Week 1: Complete!

I have survived week 1 of work boot camp.
Holy hell.

My manager asked me last night (while we were all celebrating at the local pub by getting completely trashed) what the biggest surprise of the class has been so far.

My answer: crying after the 4th day.

It's true. At the end of each day, there is a quiz, and for the second day in a row on Wednesday, my grade was not a fair reflection of how well I understood the material. I only scored 80% because I either overthought the questions or misunderstood them. And it would be different if I didn't get the concepts. At least then I could ask for help.

So, I went home, cried, slept, ate a large serving of comfort food and did my best to shake it off. The next day I made sure not to assume anything about any of the quiz questions. I asked for clarification, and lo and behold I scored 99.83 - the highest grade in the class. My strategy continued to pay off on yesterday's database quiz - my first 100%!!!! (to the dismay of my lower scoring Georgia Tech graduate neighbors who had just took this college course and commented on how easy the test was going to be - heehee! select statement THIS, bitches!)

Ok, I realize this isn't exactly a weight loss related post, so I will end with an update on that front. In spite of grueling 10 hour days, I forced myself to get out of bed at 5:30 twice this week to get in a workout. That, my friends, is just a plain out miracle. This girl NEVER gets up before the sun. But I did, and honestly, it wasn't all that bad. I may just do it again this week since it's too cold now for my usual outside run when I get home at 7pm.

And last but not least, I saw a nice loss of 1.8 pounds this week. That was Wednesday's weigh-in - and it already looks like I'll be having a nice loss next week as well - crossing my fingers!
Finally, the holiday pounds are gone and I'm seeing numbers not yet seen since 2003! Feels so good.

Hope you all are having fantastic weekends!!

My solution to the girl's night dilemma

So, first off, I didn't mean to keep you all in suspense this morning about girl's night. The boot camp that I have mentioned before - and let me clarify is work related and does not in any way involve circuit training or exercise - started today and I've been away from my usual desk. I will be for the next 6 weeks, making blogging anywhere but home nearly impossible. Hence, the abbreviated post this morning regarding my weigh in.

As for girl's night, I did end up going. I didn't have time to make anything to bring, so I just ate a normal dinner beforehand. Luckily, I had some dental work done earlier that day, so I used that as an excuse (not completely a lie) for the tiny portions I took. But it was still not pretty. A handful of regular white grain pasta with pesto, three slices of baguette with brie, three glasses of wine (which I had planned for) and the worst of all - the creme brulee. I only eat ate half the ramekin, but at 11 points for the entire serving, even a bite was dangerous! I ended up logging 40 points for my day yesterday. No doubt part of the reason for my .2 gain today, but good thing I'd saved my flex points!

And I've made up my mind that the particular girl hosting this event is a diet saboteur. Do any of you have friends like this? I couldn't believe that she was judging another girl there (psst...she's new to the blog world. give her a little hello if you have a chance) for still being hungry after she was the one who made a meal that could go down in the 'weight watcher's worst nightmare cookbook'. Even worse, she went so far as to point out the light version of the creme brulee in her cookbook. Ummmm, hello?! Did it not occur to her that would have been a better choice in respect to her guests?! I'm a little baffled by it. I always consider other people's needs, especially when I'm the host. Am I wrong in thinking this way??

F!

I had decided to weigh in today, but I should've stuck with my official weigh in day of Wednesday instead. I'm actually UP .2 from last week. I'm really in disbelief considering how good I've been all week and how many chances to be bad I've said NO to.

I have to just trust that my efforts will show up eventually.

For this week, it's 166.4.

Blah.

Girl's Night Dilemma

So tonight is girl's night hosted at the super skinny girl's house. I hear she's making creme brulee. There will also be brie. And the other three of us are either on weight watchers or being mindful of what we eat.

I think it's completely thoughtless of her and I'm thinking about just bringing my own food to eat. Would it be rude? Or should I just not go?

Sunday 6

Swizzle's Sunday 7 is responsible for this impromptu post that sums up my weekend in a list of 6 little tasty niblets (see also - too lazy to type complete paragraphs - I don't know how Randi does her novelas!):

1. The Christmas Tree is finally in the attic! Only 330-something days...
   
2. Sweeney Todd just may be my favorite movie ever. Who knew throats being slit could be so damn hilarious?!?
3. It's Sunday night and my house is clean. *insert sounds of angels singing*
   
4. The peanut M&Ms from my christmas stocking are officially GONE.
5. Hopefully the 7 miles I managed to get in since Friday will help offset the damage caused by accomplishing #4. Heh.
6. Tomorrow is my last Monday before the work-related 'boot camp' starts. In about 50 days from now, I will have a life again.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

166.2

Is the number.

A couple of pounds worth of christmas joy. Eh, it'll be gone shortly.

Anyway, some new finds:

Shape Magazine's 20-minute playlists
my shuffle is dying for some new tunes!

Phytokarite Ultra Nourishing Mask - Ultra Dry Hair
a small sample has made me a huge fan of this miracle for thick, colored hair like mine.
It makes my hair like silk!

Quiznos
just recently came clean with their nutritional information, turns out the cup of chili and a side salad = a pretty good quick meal for only 2 points! Yay!

Now, I'm off to download those new tunes!

A New Year

This official first week back from the holidays has been exhausting!

First, Let me back up and say that my holidays were amazing, ending with the big 'ol beach bash at St. Pete. I had an awesomely cute dress that I punked out with some black tights and black ankle boots - hot! And most of the pics I've seen of me from all angles don't make me want to photoshop them. Especially this one:

And we really were having that much fun!

But it's good to be back in the swing of things. I've been so busy training my replacement that I haven't had a chance to comment on many of your blogs, but I AM reading them all! It's comforting to know that I was not alone in my overindulgences of the past month. I too have found myself hiding the scale this week so as to not get down on myself about the past that I can do nothing about. BUT, I've been totally back OP this week, and although I did partake of the tiny cakes and tartlettes this past weekend, we forced ourselves to go to the hotel gym on Friday and walk on the beach for 2 hours on Saturday. I don't feel like the damage was severe.

Regardless, I'm ready to face the numbers tomorrow - and I feel pretty good about it. Or at least I do in my clothes.

I haven't really had a chance to think about any resolutions aside from reading a book a month (which was one I failed to do last year). I have a feeling this one will be easy with all the travel time I'll accumulate before the end of the year. I also want to learn to knit. More on resolutions to come...

I do have a loss goal that I'd like to meet by Spring (March 31st): 10 pounds.
I'm guessing that will put me at around 155, depending on tomorrow's weigh in. I would like to have a fitness goal, but I think my upcoming 12-hour days are going to make getting in any exercise an achievement. I plan to keep pounding the pavement though! Nothing better for the stress of trying to plan a wedding and start a new position!!

I really should not be blogging at all tonight. My christmas tree still stands. Seriously.