3/5 of the way to my goal

I don’t really like blogging about my Weight Watchers success. It makes me feel weird, like I shouldn’t have let myself go so far before I had to look for outside enforcement, but that’s the nature of having a problem. You won’t accept help until you look for it yourself. Going to a WW meeting mustn’t be too far off from an AA meeting, food addicts, alcoholics, we’re not that different. Well, maybe our stories are less depressing at WW, but we’re there to be supportive of each other and to share what’s working and what isn’t and learn the science behind the whats and whys of the program.

Anyhow, it’s working slowly but surly for me. Since Thanksgiving 2012 I’ve lost 20 lbs (well, I hit that milestone a month ago and have been near it since, but I haven’t been great about limiting my birthday/wedding celebration consumption either). Yes, that’s 9 months to loose 20 lbs, or about 2 lbs per month overall. I’m actually quite proud of it and expect that because I’ve lost it so slowly it’s more likely to stay off.

Every time I hit a setback it’s been 3-4 pounds over 2 weeks after some major event revolving around food: baby shower, road trip, baby shower, wedding, birthday, etc. Then it takes me a month to get back on track, and loose what was there before too, which is really frustrating because I feel like I’ve lost the same weight over and over again. It also means that sometimes I loose 6 lbs in a month when 1/2 of those were pounds I’d already lost and yo-yoed back because I ate too much salt/fat/whatever and just had an awful weigh in previously. FINALLY though I’m starting to see that I look and feel different. My waist is back where it should be and old clothes not only fit but are a tad roomy! And the best part is that yoga is getting easier, not because I’m getting stronger, I feel I may have in fact lost muscle tone because I’m not as active as I have been in the past, but because there’s less belly to have to modify around!

The biggest milestone for me is that my wedding dress not only fits again, but it fit without the Spanx I wore underneath for my wedding! WOOHOO!

pointing out my favorite wedding photo in my wedding dress almost 3 years later
PS- please ignore the mezuzah that appears to be sticking out of my head

Go me! Oh, and I got new glasses too. Not a huge change, but I also got my first pair of prescription sun glasses rather than the magnetic/clip-on sunglasses that went over my regular glasses that I had in the past. I feel like a real grownup now. Watching my food intake, trying to track my physical activity, and real sun glasses. I guess 30 isn’t so bad, it just can’t the tequila/beer and nachos/pizza festival that 23 was and I am 100% OK with that; I like veggies, whole grains, and lean protein!

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How I Afford to Work Only Part-Time

I really realte to this article, How I Afford to Stay Home, that I recently found on Kveller.com. Minus the baby and twice monthly grocery trips (I go once or twice a week, and to regular grocers), paying attention to our spending, and keeping everything within a budget, it works.

What is frustrating me to no end lately is that my little paychecks have only been enough to just barely pay off my monthly credit card bill. All of my medical fees are being payed through my visa so that they’ll earn us a vacation some day.

Have I mentioned that I’m injured? Yeah… On March 4th, my left arm would have dislocated but for the fact that I’m hyper-ligmented. Yes, my uber-flexibility finally came in handy! I got 5 sprains, 3 of which were level two and the others only level one. Thankfully no tears or rotator cuff damage, just pectoral, deltoid, intercostal, super scapular, and trapezius strains. Ouch.

I saw a doctor the next day, when I realized that I couldn’t put my own bra on, reach behind me to pull the seatbelt down, or type without discomfort. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor/massage therapist since the accident and started seeing a physical therapist while home for Passover and just started with a new one here in Boulder. I’m also now seeing a medical massage therapist and weaning myself off the chiropractics (it feels good, but isn’t necessary).

Catastrophe insurance IS cheaper, and still will be in the long run, but it sucks to have to pay all of this out of pocket to see it all counting towards my $5k deductible. I’d rather pay $150/month and <$1000 out of pocket for treatments than >$300/month to the insurance company ad infinitum.

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