when in Rome...

It's hard to believe it has been 3 weeks since my last post. the week before my trip to Rome was a whirlwind of getting things in order before we left.
Last Saturday was my first weekend back since my last weight loss report and though it was the last thing I felt like doing, I dragged myself to my Weight Watchers meeting. Still feeling the lag of the jet, I spent the morning commiserating with my husband about how unfortunate we were to no longer be able to spend the day looking at beautiful art and eating amazing food, at least in Rome, anyway! Feeling lost in nostalgia I decided I was too wrapped up in my vacation memories and it was too soon to sit in a meeting and talk about losing weight, but I did go and I did get weighed and I found out I gained 1.2 pounds!
Oh well, what did I expect from having this (see photo below) for breakfast every morning? Don't worry, I only ate one of these. The other two were for hubby Anthony & son Ian!
So, the above weight loss ticker is officially moved in the opposite direction today. & I am back to journaling my food every day since this last Saturday. I should say I feel lucky I didn't gain more. I think the reason I probably didn't was due to the constant walking and cycling we did. We walked a good distance before and after every meal. Maybe I would have actually lost weight if I didn't eat Gelato everyday too.
I should also say how lately I have been thinking I would really like to change the course of my weight loss direction to being one of completing the weight loss challenge I have imposed upon myself. This November 12 it will be two years since I went back to WW. If you want to read the beginning of that story, you can find it here. I think I may feel a great sense of accomplishment if I could succeed at becoming a lifetime member and just stick to maintaining my weight loss goal.
I have written in the past that as slow as I have been in my success, had I not been in the WW program I felt that I would have gained more weight so I would rationalize that at least I wasn't getting fatter. While that may be true, I am starting to think it's time to raise the bar a bit.
I was thinking how nice it would be to achieve my goal by this November 12 which is eleven weeks away. If I stick to the program, Weight Watchers says I should lose 1-2 pounds per week. Wouldn't it be wonderful to celebrate two years of this blog by achieving my weight loss goal?
I am going to do it.

"Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second."~William James

weight loss update

Remember when I made the decision about using the weight ticker to report on my weight when I gain? This morning I went to my Weight Watchers meeting and found out I lost 2.2 pounds this week. I was pretty happy since I diligently spent time keeping a food journal. I usually write down what I eat every week at least a few days but this week I wrote down what I ate every day. I remember when I first started Weight Watchers the weeks I religiously kept a food journal are the weeks I always lost weight.
Excited about my loss, I got home and prepared to move the slider thingy on the above weight loss ticker only to find out those 2.2 pounds I lost apparently had been gained back sometime during the last few months and I never recorded those pounds on my ticker! So, officially I still have 15 pounds to lose!
Whatever... I am still happy about my success. It always feels good to be back on track and actually succeeding.
It's not that I stopped going to meetings, I go every single week. I'm convinced that accountability keeps me from gaining my weight back, with the exception of one or two pounds of course!
I just haven't been reporting about it here which I would really love to change. In fact, I would love to report about actually being consistently successful at losing weight. I think that would be even more fun.
The truth is, sometimes I secretly think I can't do it. I say secretly because I don't like to think negative thoughts, in fact I am against thinking that way so I keep those thoughts to myself as I actively try and push them from my mind denying those feelings as if they don't exist.
I guess I just changed that by sharing those thoughts on my blog! LOL! Ahhh, that feels so much better! ...deep, deep cleansing breath.
Not to be perverse, but I had to include a photo of this luscious cake we had last week when we celebrated my brother-in-law Danny's 50th birthday. The chocolate was divine, the cake itself yellow and the filling was cannoli. It was like a meal. I enjoyed just ONE piece & I had it with non-diet ginger ale, a perfect accompaniment if I do say so myself!
and I still lost 2.2 pounds. I just made sure everything else I ate that day was highly nutritious and I also made sure to go for a bike ride when I got home.
This is exactly how I want to enjoy my life celebrating over cake yet still taking care of myself.