BrandNewAmy

Well, I haven't been successful on my journey after 'firing' Weight Watchers but I have held my weight steady for the past couple of months. I was thinking of starting back up at WW but I want to try something more 'realistic' for me. So after doing a lot of research, I've decided that I'm going to give Clean Eating a try. It sure seems an awful lot like Weight Watcher's old CORE program, or as I like to call it "back-to-basics". I'm heading out of town on Sunday to watch my daughter compete at her gymnastics meet and lucky for me, it is near a Trader Joe's! So, mama's doing a little shopping on her way home! Wish me luck!

I started Weight Watchers back in January of 2012. I lost 23 lbs. between my start date and April. I then lost and gained the same two pounds over the next month or so and then pretty much gave up on WW for the summer. Two weeks ago I started back up only to find that most of the foods I ate were not available through WW eTools and I had to find out their nutritional values some other way. I ended up using MFP so often that I finally started keeping track in both places. A couple of days ago I started to think. Do I really need to continue to pay $43/month for a product that is fairly incomplete when I can pay $0/month for a fairly complete product? Seems like a no brainer. I do worry that I'll lose something from not attending meetings on a weekly basis, but since I've been leaning more toward MFP and less toward WW, I've realized that I do have a pretty decent support system here. As an added bonus, my hubby uses MFP! So, I've made the decision to formally fire WW and

OH MY HEAVENLY COOKIE! This is my first recipe from Dashing Dish and I am in love!!! It was simple to make and tastes fabulous. I am certainly going to be making more in the future!! This is a members-only recipe so I'll share the link but you won't be able to access it unless you are a member (which is totally worth it!).  { link } Dinner tonight was from Dashing Dish, too. My finicky daughters (9 and 5) didn't like --- one liked part and the other didn't like the other part --- it but I loved it!! Here is a photo from my plate! {Please excuse the 1/2 eaten taco. I was already eating before I remember to take the pic!} { link }

About a month ago I stumble upon the nicest website, Dashing Dish . This gal, Katie, created this site to share some fabulous recipes and exercises. I've been peeking at it ever since and then finally, today, I decided to pay for a membership ($5 a month is what she suggests but if you can't afford that, then Katie will take less. Be honest people!!) and get access to all of the recipes. I'm going to make a menu for next week, develop my grocery list, and shop! I'll let you know how it goes!

I am down 18.8 lbs. since I began my journey on January 22, 2012. The last couple of weeks I lost and gained the same 2 lbs. and started to give up hope. Today I woke up and decided that I wouldn't lose hope, so I went to my Sunday morning meeting and decided to start again! The meeting was about keeping up during the summer so here are the goals that I have set for myself: Weight ---My weight today is 150.6 lbs. ---What I hope to weigh by Labor Day (in 13 weeks) is 135.6 lbs. Activity ---Activities I'll be doing are playing with my kids, walking the treadmill, and (hopefully) getting back to Zumba classes. ---Something new I'll try is running outside. I currently run/walk on my treadmill but I'd like to continue this activity outside, if possible. ---How often and how long I'll plan to be active: I would like to continue my run/walk program for 3x/ week. BUT I'd love to up that to about 6x/week (work 3 days, rest, work 3 days, rest, etc.) Lifestyle

I don't have much to post today but couldn't go without acknowledging my 100th day on Weight Watchers! I feel good!

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 148.4 lbs. Current Week: -2.8 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 21.0 lbs. Woo hoo! I hit the 21 lb. mark! I am soooooo excited!! I was bummed out last week because I was forced to weigh in during the day but this week made up for it! Yay me! I feel good, really good!

Starting Weight: 169.9 lbs. Current Weight: 151.2 lbs. Current Week: +0.2 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 18.2 lbs. Well, afternoon's weigh in certainly don't work for me. :( I weighed myself at home on Friday and had a 2 lb. loss but when I went to WW this afternoon I was met with a 0.2 lb. gain. Grrr...very depressing. I hope that means next week will be better!! I continue to follow my "C25K" training and began week 2 today. I am really enjoying this and hope that I'll be a bit of a jogger by the summer. Woo hoo!!

Just finished week 1 day 3 of #C25K with @c25kfree! Running for a cause with @BCRFWorldPink! On Sunday I began the "Couch Potato to 5K" program which basically gets a couch potato (that would be me!) off the couch and into a 5K (maybe...) in about 9 weeks. I tried this program about a year ago but being the "all in" gal that I tend to be, I over did it and it didn't last. So, this time around I'm cutting back. I do about a 3mph walk and a 4mph jog and so far, I've lasted three days!! Woo hoo! There is hope for me after all!! I follow an app that tells me when to walk and when to run jog and then at the end I can keep track of my progress on Facebook or Twitter. I feel good!!

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 151.0 lbs. Current Week: -1.6 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 18.4 lbs. Well, after two crazy weeks (and unfortunately another one coming up) I finally got to my weigh in. Imagine my surprise when the scale registered a 1.6 lb. LOSS! Woo hoo! Yay me! :) I'm so excited!! I needed that. I've been on a complete mental plateau lately. It stinks. :( Hopefully this is the kick I need to get back on track. :)

Weight Watchers was closed today. I realize the importance of today for myself and people all over the world but I really wish they would have had a single meeting, early this morning, at one location in the area! Even if we could only weigh in!! Today is pretty much the only day this week that I can weigh in during the morning so now I have to pick an evening weigh in time. It makes me so sad!!! Ugh! :( I did weigh in on Friday at home (for my contest with my hubby) and according to my home scale I'm down another 2.4 lbs. for a grand total of 18.8 lbs. lost! I realize that my home scale is a little different than the WW scale but this will at least get me through until the next weigh in opportunity! With that said, I did have a wonderful time with my family as well as my husband's family. Unfortunately my food choices weren't the best but the company was wonderful. Such a wonderful way to enjoy the day! Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice for us.

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 152.6 lbs. Current Week: -0.2 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 16.8 lbs. Slow and steady, right? I need to remind myself today that any loss is better than a gain. So, while I'm not thrilled with such a small loss, I'm grateful that it isn't a gain! :) This week I'm going to focus on finding my motivation. I'm really proud of all that I've accomplished in such a short amount of time. Now I need to keep myself motivated and keep going. :) I'm going to re-evaluate my goals and rewards and see if I can't set some more small goals in between my larger ones. I can do this. I know I can!

I just put a "Goals & Rewards" page up so that I can update it in one place rather than trying to remember to add it to my posts. Keep checking back as I reach my goals!

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 152.8 lbs. Current Week: -4.2 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 16.6 lbs. I am beyond excited about my WI this week! I realize that 4.2 lbs. isn't exactly the "safe" 2 lb. loss that is recommended but after my last two weeks of yucky weigh ins I think the scale and my body have caught up! So, according to Weight Watchers I've been losing at an average rate of 1.4 lbs. per week so I guess I'm still doing okay. :) So, the next cool thing about my 4.2 loss this week? I made 10%! I'm REALLY geeked about that!! I should probably reward myself with a little something but i'm not sure what! I was going to buy a new pair of jeans for myself but unfortunately, I really don't need to change sizes just yet. Makes me a little sad. :( So, I might buy myself a little something-something from my favorite handbag company {Hello Harveys! Here I come!} and buy a new outfit (complete with shoes!) when I hit 25 lbs. Nothing wrong wit

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 157.0 lbs. Current Week: -0.8 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 12.4 lbs. Not bad for an afternoon weigh in! Can't wait to see what next week brings!!

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 157.8 lbs. Current Week: +2.4 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 11.6 lbs. I hit my first set back. I had a gain this week and it wasn't a little one. I gained 2.4 lbs. I feel absolutely HORRIBLE about it. I'm going to take this post and turn it into a little pity party for myself and then once I publish this post, I'm letting it go and moving on. This week at WW the topic was "Nix Negative Self-Talk: Learn How to Overcome Obstacles, Remain Positive, and Get Back On Track". Pretty funny, eh? Ah the irony. I have to admit that when I stepped on the scale today I wasn't 100% sure that I was going to have a good week. I could just feel it in my bones. I was really "off" this week and still can't figure out why. So it really shouldn't have been too big of a shocker that I didn't lose weight, the shocker came in the form of the 2.4 lbs. I put back on. After all this hard work I slid back almost two weeks.

Speaking of photos...I used MVM.com {My Virtual Model} to create a virtual me to show a before and after. I can't wait to see if I actually turn out this way... Before - 169 lbs. After - 125 lbs.

After the thrill of getting my Jillian Michaels Body Revolution DVDs in the mail wore off, I realized that I actually needed to use them in order to determine if they actually worked or not!! LOL I decided that I can't do this on my own so I recruited my friend and co-worker, Candice, to try the first one out with me. Guess what? It didn't entirely suck!! My arms hurt and my legs feel like jell-o but I think that is a good thing, right? So, since she is my biggest supporter, we're trying it again tomorrow!! {Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!} I'm really excited though. If Jillian is right and I can lose some weight and build muscles on her program, then I can dedicate 30 minutes a day to Jillian... Oh, took some updated pictures of me. I'm down 14 lbs. and wanted to see if I could see it myself...not too shabby if you ask me!! Here they are: Before - 1/22/2012 Today - 3/7/2012 Before - 1/22/2012 Today - 3/7/2012  {I think this side view

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 155.4 lbs. Current Week: -2.0 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 14.0 lbs. Wow. That's all I really can say, wow. I am in absolute shock today. I cannot believe I am down 14 lbs. overall. I lost 2 lbs. this week. I think I'm in shock. I shouldn't be though. I stay within my daily points plus range, I track EVERYTHING I eat! I do not exercise, yet. It seems like every time I post, I write that I don't exercise and I really need to. So, today is going to be different. I am going to start my Jillian Michaels Body Revolution today. I was going to start this morning but I have so much to do that this afternoon will have to be soon enough. So, today I learned some things about myself. We talked about portion control in my meeting this morning and it got me thinking. I am actually becoming a PRO at portion control, BUT what I am still missing is eating RIGHT. I still eat a lot of microwave foods or quick eats and that bothers me. Yes, I&

Well planned advertising at its best! I heard through the grapevine {or at least that is what I am telling myself} that Jillian Michaels was going to come out with an exercise system designed to help you lose weight and tone up. Ooh! News Flash! That's NEVER been done before!! {Yeah, I know, I'm a bit heavy on the sarcasm here...sorry...kind of.} Anyway, I was perusing a bunch of blogs last weekend when I stumbled across a {well planned} advertisement for her NEW program. I followed the link ~ hopefully some poor blogger made a couple bucks off my click! ~ watched the video, did a search for her workout, found some blogs from her success stories, and proceeded to drop some cash on purchasing it. Fast forward to today and it came in the mail! Woo hoo! I'm really looking forward to trying it out. There are 15 videos divided into 3 phases. Each phase is 4 weeks long for a total of 12 weeks. The thing that really got me? Each video is only about 30 minutes long. Honestly? Tha

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 157.4 lbs. Current Week: -2.4 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 12.0 lbs. Today starts my 6th week on WW and my 5th weigh in {aside from my original weigh in!} and I met my 10 lb. goal! I am officially down 12.0 lbs! I am absolutely THRILLED with this! I'm starting to notice my pants getting smaller and even my shirts getting smaller. Even my parents have started noticing my weight loss. This is so exciting! My overall goal is about 50 lbs. So, right now I've lost about 25% of my goal. Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! I have to say, I completely support Weight Watchers and especially their in-person meetings. This is really working for me! #1 - 5 lbs -  met on 2/5/12 #2 - 5% {8.5 lbs} -  met on 2/12/12 #3 - 10 lbs. -  met on 2/26/12 #4 - 10% {17 lbs} - #5 - 25 lbs. - #6 - 125 lbs. {44.4 lbs lost} - #7 - Goal! {50 lbs} -

I was recently told but someone important to me {no, not my hubby!} that I lack follow through when it comes to stuff. Initially I was taken aback and completely offended, but after a little bit of time and some thought, I had to agree. I really, really suck at follow through. I have not miraculously become the follow through queen, but I am certainly getting better at it. I sit here tonight, er, this morning and reflect on the last 35 days of being on WW and I am really proud of myself and how I've handled this lifestyle change. Do I need improvement? Absolutely! But I'm gaining control over myself and what I put into my body. Follow through? I think so. Now to follow through on some other things in my life... Oh! I almost forgot! I need rewards. Yep, I need rewards. Who doesn't?! So, here are my current rewards planned for weight loss goals met... #1 - 5 lbs -  met on 2/5/12 {gave myself a pat on the back for this one!} #2 - 5% {8.5 lbs} -  met on 2/12/12 {Got a Shel

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 159.8 lbs. Current Week: -1.2 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 9.6 lbs. Well, I weighed in this morning to a 1.2 lb. weight loss. I'm so excited!! I wish it were closer to the 2 lb. mark but I'm thrilled that it was even a loss. So, now that I'm 29 days OP I really need to start looking at my exercise habits. I need to start exercising! I have a fabulous treadmill in the basement but no motivation to use it. I keep saying I'm going to get down there and do it, but I keep putting it off. Found this today. Might have to try it: http://www.c25k.com/c25k_treadmill.html

So, last night my hubby and I went to a fundraiser called "Soups-N-Suds" where many local businesses (restaurants, taverns, liquor distributors, etc.) provided tasty treats and yummy beverages all in the name of charity. My hubby and I tagged along with another couple and really had a great night. So, where's the bump you might ask? Well, if you scroll down to my post on Day 15, you'll note that I talk about writing down everything including my alcohol consumption. Well...last night was really hard. First, we ate a variety of "little" things (small cups of soup, little snackies, etc.) and drank a lot of little beers. Unfortunately {here is where I hang my head in shame} I did overindulge in the Suds part of the night and I'm not quite sure how to track it. So...what I ended up doing was taking my remaining PointsPlus for the day and the remaining weekly balance and put them down as my total intake for the event. Well, that number was 52, so I'm reall

I cannot believe that I'm on Day 25 and going strong! Okay, well, today I felt a little weak but for the most part I'm going pretty strong. :) I'm very happy with my progress and even felt a little success today in the form of looser fitting pants! That's right folks, my pants are feeling looser!! Woot! Woot! Now I haven't moved down a size, yet, but the fact that I can button them without sucking everything in is a total bonus for me. Wahoo!! Not bad for someone 25 day OP!!

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 161.0 lbs. Current Week: -1.8 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 8.4 lbs. I did it! I did it! I met my 5% goal today! I lost 1.8 lbs which put me just at my 5% goal! Woo hoo! I needed that! #1 - 5 lbs -  met on 2/5/12 #2 - 5% {8.5 lbs} -  met on 2/12/12 #3 - 10 lbs. - #4 - 10% {17 lbs} - #5 - 25 lbs. - #6 - 125 lbs. {44.4 lbs lost} - #7 - Goal! {50 lbs} - I rewarded myself with a "food" item {which I know I'm not supposed to do, but hey, it was a Starbucks skinny latte!!} by treating myself to a coffee this morning. Now I'm off to make some returns and do a little shopping. I wish I fit in smaller pants but that will come in time.

I need to get this info down for myself {i could probably add it to my sidebar but i'm not quite sure how!} so that I can see what my "goals" are! LOL #1 - 5 lbs - met on 2/5/12 #2 - 5% {8.5 lbs} - #3 - 10 lbs. - #4 - 10% {17 lbs} #5 - 25 lbs. - #6 - 125 lbs. {44.4 lbs lost} - #7 - Goal! {50 lbs} - Okay, so #7 is a little lofty, as I probably don't HAVE to lose 50 lbs. but I would love to give it a try and see what happens! I'm going to copy, paste and update this post each time I meet a goal! Woo hoo! With any luck, I'll meet goal #2 tomorrow!! {crossing fingers!}

Okay, so I'm lying a little bit. I'm not starving as my post title would imply but rather I was very hungry all day today. I think sitting around the house (it is FREEZING outside) will do that to a gal. So...rather than getting up off my tush today, I sat and allowed myself to feel hungry all day long. My fault. My bad. BUT one good thing did come of it today! I realized that it is true that if you drink more water you will feel fuller longer! Yeesh, I need to start believing that! So, what have I been doing with my time since I sat around all day? I played on Facebook and Pinterest, that's what! I found some great pages on FB and some yummy-sounding recipes on Pinterest. I love those time-sucking sites! :)What's next for the rest of my evening? A little cleaning and hopefully a viewing of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I . I'm so excited!! Tomorrow is another WW meeting. I'm really looking forward to it. I've been pleased with my results and ha

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 162.8 lbs. Current Week: -4.6 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 6.6 lbs. Well, I had my 3rd weigh in today and I'm down 6.6 lbs! Woo hoo! I am thrilled!! Some people might say that 3.3 lbs./week is a bit much (2.0 lbs. last week and 4.6 lbs. this week) but for me, it is just a case of having a really crappy diet up until now. My body must really be enjoying the fruits and veggies that I've been adding to it lately. I'm fully anticipating that my weight loss will even out shortly but for now, I'm enjoying the ride!! What has been successful for me so far? Tracking! I have been writing EVERYTHING down! I mean everything! The other day I had pizza and beer. I wrote it down! I will admit, that 5 points for a beer is a bit much so it has kept me sober!! LOL {Not that alcohol is a problem, I was just trying to crack a joke!} I'm looking forward to the week ahead! I think I'm going to add exercise and see where that gets me!

I'm really, really excited right now and very proud of myself. Here I am at Day 14 and I've tracked EVERY SINGLE BITE that I have put in my mouth! It sure is a wake up call to toss a 6 point cupcake in your mouth during the middle of the day but it made me realize how crazy my food habits can be! I'm certainly learning a lot about myself right now. Sadly, I'm still not sure how to change my family lifestyle. We have really scattered eating habits and while I wish we were a family that sat down to dinner every night, we aren't. My husband works a 24 hour shift three days out of every nine so that puts a damper on things to start. Then to top it off, my one daughter works out at her gymnastics gym three nights a week, so if those are days that day doesn't work, we could end up with only one or two real family nights. It really sucks!! Grrr... Anyhoo. I'm very proud of myself. I've been working hard at this, trying to be consistent and above all? Being hon

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 167.4 lbs. Current Week: -2.0 lbs. Total Weight Loss: - 2.0 lbs. I'm going to keep this super short, as I've had a long weekend and I'm really tired. BUT I did sneak into a WW location today to weigh in (unfortunately I couldn't go to my regular meeting) and I lost 2 lbs!!! I am super excited about this BUT since I weighed in last week in the a.m. and this week in the p.m. I can't help but wonder if I wouldn't have registered a larger loss had I weighed in this morning? Here's to small successes!!!

Wow! Today begins my last year in my 30s. Or as I like to look at it, I'm 21 with 18 years of experience! Well, no matter how you look at it, I've turned 39 and I'm one year closer to my metabolism backfiring on me. So, I'm especially glad that I have made this change. I'm on Day 4 and while things aren't "perfect" for me, I am keeping track of every bite I take and holding myself complete accountable for my choices. Back to my birthday. My daughters greeted me after work with big hugs and kisses and fabulous handmade birthday cards. Those are the greatest gifts of all! I also received some fabulous gift cards for iTunes (workout music?) and Starbucks (lucky for me they have good, healthy choices!). I feel so spoiled! For dinner, I was given the option to choose my place of dinner. Where did I pick? Home. My hubby made me shrimp, steamed in Old Bay Seasoning, twice-baked potatoes (not my finest choice, but yummy nonetheless!), and a glass of white wi

Here it is day 2 and I've had several moments where I wanted to gnaw my own arm off. But for the sake of losing my butt, I completely ignored my ruthless cravings and pushed ahead. I know I wasn't truly hungry because I felt like I was having cravings, I wasn't really starving. I need to get past these feelings to my true feelings and then I'm fine. I just reflected on my photos from yesterday and I truly think that posting them was the right thing to do. It is a true wake up call for me to realize that I am much bigger than I visualize in my mind. It is funny that I visualize myself as a thinner person and I'm truly not. It makes me sad to see the pictures of me, because I've never been that person. Oh well, she's going away and the real me will be out to play soon enough!

Starting Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Weight: 169.4 lbs. Current Week: +/- 0.0 lbs. Total Weight Loss: 0.0 lbs. I named this blog "Brand New Amy" but truly I should have named it "Find the Old Amy"! I am not looking to turn myself into someone new, I'm actually trying to find the old me. Once upon a time, I was a more "normal" sized person. Over time, I've gotten away from who I used to be and now I'm trying to get back to who I was. This morning, I joined Weight Watchers for what is "hopefully" the final time. I've tried in the past and more recently I've tried online. Unfortunately something hasn't clicked, until now. I am going to work this program EXACTLY as it is supposed to be worked and I'm going to do it for me. Yes, I want my family to be proud of me. Yes, I want my family to see what healthy looks like, but for once, I'm going to put me first. I deserve it! This next part scares me. I'm going t