Last week was bad. I did say I wanted to get back on track, and I did. And when I ate at home, I was (except for too much chocolate on Friday and Saturday). But what with my best friend’s birthday, my mom’s birthday, I ate out three times, and had pie one day and two danishes when I visited my sister. At the restaurants, instead of ordering a small portion of something healthy, I decided I’d enjoy the meal and eat what I would like best (this is something I have to work on, being able to order the healthy alternative without feeling like I am missing out on something better). Now it isn’t like I went completely overboard, don’t get me wrong, and I was surprised at how much I gained, but the gain per se wasn’t all that much of a surprise. I tracked points for the first three days of the week, and not for the last four (which is when all the eating out occurred). I ended up with the biggest gain yet of the past three months …

I gained 1.4kg (3.1lbs)!

I was shocked, guys. Really shocked. Not all is lost, though. Now that I am back in Heidelberg (at my own apartment) the ridiculous amount of eating out has stopped (it’s what happens when you cram several months of socializing into two weeks), and I am back on track. Mostly. I do very much need to go to the gym tomorrow though, because I did go over points already. With the help of chocolate yesterday. And cake on Friday. I will not be able to finish this week on points (unless I do three hours of Tae Bo or something crazy like that tomorrow), but it’s an improvement. And I know now that I need to watch to evenly spread my extra budget between days because I have a very hard time going without some extra points every day. I also weighed myself yesterday, and I was actually down to 84.1kg (but back up 1kg today, so I don’t know if it’s the scale or the moon or what, but I’ll just have to wait for the weigh-in on Wednesday.

My three months Weight Watchers subscription expired today but I have decided not to cancel it because despite the pathetic effort I have shown over the past month, I am still determined to lose the weight. And I still believe that WW can work for me. If I let it.

You know, after weighing in at 84.1kg yesterday, I ate a whopping 100g of chocolate (not at once but throughout the day) and 250g of pasta for dinner (in two servings, which is way way way too much for one meal). Which made me think … am I sabotaging myself? I don’t know if I am. I guess that’s something to ponder over and to observe myself.

It is day one of week 12 and I am back on track with WW. I have counted everything I ate today which is more than I can say about … well, every single day last week. I had a bunch of cookies, went to Burger King once, didn’t work out at all, and despite everything …

I somehow managed to lose 0.7kg (1.5lbs)!

I must admit, I would have never expected to lose anything at all, let alone this much over the past week. I knew I did better than the three weeks I had gains (weeks #7, 9, 10), despite not counting, but I really am surprised at this weigh-in.

But you know what, I am going to take it as a motivator for getting back on track with WW. What is better to motivate yourself than having success and feeling good about yourself, right?

I am very curious about the next week. There will probably be several occasions of eating out and a pie on Sunday but I will just try to make the most responsible choice when I go out and pick a healthy option from the menu. As for the pie? Well, I’ll just save my weekly extra budget for that.

How has your week been?

Oh boy, it has been a while, huh? Two weeks since my last blog post.

Before you start worrying, I am doing okay. I am not entirely on the bandwagon as far as WW goes, but I am still doing my weigh-ins. Unfortunately, I have gained 0.9kg over the last two weeks (I have been keeping my weight loss progress page up to date), so it is high time for me to fully commit to WW again. And to go to the gym once I get back in town (I’m at my parents’ currently).

I think what is up with me right now is one of those cases of ‘oh whatever.’ I just don’t care enough. There are too many occasions for me to consume too many points and I don’t (want to) say no. I have been feeling unsure about it being worth it. Saying no, turning down snacks for a small loss. It’s amazing to think that I made it through the entire holiday season without any issues and now here I am. In February.

I must admit that while I did journal most days in the past month (since my first gain), I have not properly journaled my food intake in the past week or two. I don’t think I did all that horrible this week with the exception of a load of cookies I had on Wednesday and Thursday. Oh wait, there was that visit at Burger King on Saturday too. The only reason we even went there was because there was no available seating at Subway. Bad excuse, I know. But hello, Germany, ever heard of food courts?

I have not weighed myself since Wednesday, mainly because at my parents’ the scale is in their bathroom (as opposed to my bedroom at my place), so I am not tempted to step on it as frequently, as it is one floor up from my bedroom. I have no idea where I am weight-wise right now, though I am hoping that if I gained it was a small gain like last week (0.2kg) or no gain at all. I would LOVE a loss but I am not sure that is going to happen.

I am promising myself to start journaling food & liquids again starting Wednesday (my weigh-in day) and I will get back on track and losing again. I think what I need right now is a really good week. A week of sticking to plan every day and having a big-ish loss. Something that will make me care again. And that is not going to happen as long as I don’t count points. I know that. So there, Wednesday* is the day I will be getting on the bandwagon again.

I also need to write my weigh-in posts sooner. I have noticed that if I wait until the weekend, I have often forgotten so much about the past week again, that I have nothing much or interesting to say. So that’s it – back on track with WW & a weigh-in post on Wednesday!

* If you are wondering why I say Wednesday instead of tomorrow, the reason is that I am visiting a friend tomorrow who may be making a pecan pie and counting points on a day you’re going to have pecan pie is just setting yourself up for a disappointment. I am not planning on going completely overboard though, what with the day after being weigh-in day.

Yesterday I tried making chicken strips using a recipe I found a while ago for the first time. They turned out so amazing that I made them again today. This makes one large serving, which I ate with ketchup and some veggies on the side. Of course you can also make a smaller serving and have something else on the side, or put them in a salad, whatever you like. I am definitely making this one a regular. It is so simple to make and at the same time healthy and super-tasty!

Read on for the recipe.
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