Once Again...

I forgot Happy Hump Day. This time, I’m 2 days late. ARRGGHHH. I don’t think I’ll ever remember on the day I’m supposed to (or really want to for that matter). I really do enjoy a Happy Hump Day post, I just seem to forget that Wednesday exists in the week until it has passed.

So, the things I’m thankful for this past week:

1. Holiday meals that don’t make me gain weight. WooHoo! That’s a HUGE one for me. We had a holiday pot luck at work Monday and I ate things that I would normally eat –sweet potato casserole, dressing, cranberry salad, brownie, and cherry cheesecake. I still LOST 1.4 pounds this week. I couldn’t believe it. I guess because I’ve been eating healthy the majority of the time, eating poorly a few times doesn’t hurt my waist as much. Then again, I was really conscious of the portions I had of each item. I had maybe half a serving spoon each of the casserole, dressing and cranberry salad. I only had half a brownie and two bites (it was an individual cup) of the cherry cheesecake (it didn’t hit the spot, so I didn’t continue eating it).

2. The Weight Watcher’s Core Plan does NOT feel like a diet. When weighing in this week, my leader asked (as always) how it was going. I told her that Core scares me a little because I don’t feel like I am on a diet at all. I feel as though I am just eating healthier and making healthier choices. In all actuality, this is a GREAT way to feel. I am looking at this being a lifestyle change. I do not EVER want to re-gain any of the weight I have lost. There is no reason for me to gain the weight back. I gained the weight as a defense mechanism. Now that I understand that, I have other things in place to deal with those situations IF I ever face them again. If I were on Flex, I could not make that a lifestyle change. I know that I will not be able to forever count point values in the foods I eat, but I know that I can make healthier choices.

3. I am thankful for Weight Watcher Member websites that have Core recipes like Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone and Bootcamp Buddies that have HUNDREDS of Core recipes as well as links in their forums to other websites with Core recipes. There is no reason for anyone to think that “Core” is just grilled lean meat and vegetables. These sites throw that notion right out the window. I have a three-ring binder that has become my Core cookbook and I already have OVER 150 recipes in it.

4. I had a fantastic talk with G on Tuesday. That was his 37th birthday. Yep! My younger brother is 37. He is such a great dad. He is a stay at home dad because M makes 3x’s more money teaching college than he ever could and they know that. If G worked a regular full-time job, M would still have to be out of the house for 4-5 hours a day in a part-time job to help make ends meet. As it is now, she gets home from work before 1:00 EVERY afternoon (sometimes before 12 depending on the day). They have the whole afternoon to spend together as a family. G is there to be a good role model for his boys instead of those families whose dad is at work and only sees the children for 2-3 hours before the kids go to bed (that’s how we grew up – at least their kids will have a relationship with their dad and can say that they know him on a “personal” level). I think it’s great. G and M are a little frustrated because both sets of grandparents (our parents and M’s parents) don’t understand this. They are from the old school where men and women have a certain role to fill in the home and if that role isn’t being filled by the appropriate gender than things aren’t right. It’s amazing that M’s brothers (she has 2)/their wives/H/and I all seem to understand and applaud them for being the parents they are and for having the courage to step out of and think out of the box in order to have a happy family and still have the finances in place to live.

Until Later...