Sazzy and the World Record Meatloaf

Weight Watchers World: Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Day two of swim team practice for The Boy. Amid my worries that our tight new schedule was gong to affect my ability to produce healthy dinners, one of my fellow swim team moms had a confession yesterday. Her three kids are so active in various sports and clubs that they eat fast food every weeknight without fail. Just the encouragement I needed. I'd never been so glad I only have one kiddo.

I couldn't criticize, though...her kids might be devouring McD's while mine dines on home cooking, but her three are thin as pages out of the Old Testament. The Boy has adorable little love handles and a squishy belly.

Anyhooo...many of you already know, I'm a planner. Good thing, too. Armed with knowledge of our upcoming time constrictions, I planned to make two meatloaves tonight and serve one tomorrow.

I careened into the driveway with The Boy after work and ran inside. The boy scrubbed potatoes while I threw the meatloaf together. The potatoes were tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and sage, and the meat sat in a pan in two little lumps and we were out the door to swim practice in fifteen minutes flat. Those were two mighty quick loaves of meat!

The best was yet to come, though.

It is important to me to know whether or not my family likes what I made for dinner. More than a decade ago I instituted a rating system so that I could decipher the mumblings Honey makes around mouthfuls of dinner. The simple zero to ten scale yeilds a few zeros and mostly twenties from The Boy, but Honey is much more stingy. In ten years, I have earned a ten once. Yes, once. And i'm a durn good cook.

So, tonight, as we dished up meatloaf and potatoes and veggies, I asked for my score.

Honey gave me a 9.8.

A 9.8!!!!

I almost fell off my chair.

By the time the table was cleared, both of my men had eluded to the possibility of meatloaf as a midnight snack and staked a claim for a larger helping of roasted potato tomorrow night.

So, tomorrow if I seem a little off my game, it's because my back hurts...from sleeping on the floor...in the garage...in front of the fridge...guarding tomorrow night's meat loaf from a premature demise!

Good News / Bad News: The Grill is Gone, But I Did Not Eat It

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

When I was a kid, if something turned up missing the first thing you had to do was declare that you did not eat it. Whether or not the missing item was actually food was utterly irrelevant. In keeping with my upbringing: we have the title to today's blog post.

At first I thought the grill had been stolen, which would have led to great fits of crying, formation of a family task force, and pronouncement of some horrible judgement upon the perpetrator.

It was not stolen. It was left at the BIL and SIL's last weekend. We brought it there because the BIL has recently developed an irrational fear of his propane grill and thought that our charcoal kettle version might be less likely to induce arm-hair loss. No matter, Honey ended up tending the meats in the end.

The bad news is that this puts a damper on my plans for PP-friendly grilled meals this week, and of all weeks for that to happen, this is not the one I would have picked. First, because swim team practices have commenced for The Boy. This means that the time during which I would normally be preparing dinner, I am pool-side and sweaty instead. It would have been incredibly handy if Honey could be sharing the workload during the dinner shift this week.

Second, I am going to need some low-PP options this week. Keep reading for my reasons:

Related good/bad news:

If the grill really had been missing, I would have been able to prove that I had not eaten it because when I got on the scale (who is still unnamed!) this morning, it told me I lost 1.4 pounds. There is no way that I could eat a grill and still lose weight.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how I managed to lose a single ounce, and as this week is shaping up to be quite similar to last week in that I have already dipped into my weeklies and it is only lunch on day one, I am afraid to tempt fate once again. Surely I will lose...or gain, depending on how you look at it!

Consequently, the missing grill is going to throw a wrench in my quest for an On-Plan week. I will find a way to manage, I am sure.

That grill just better not show up on my scale next Tuesday, because I swear I did not eat it!

A Fireside Re-Introduction to My Taste Buds

Weight Watchers World: Monday, May 16, 2011

Me, Honey and The Boy went to Wal-Mart Sunday night and came home with one of those wrought-iron fire pits. I had no idea that such a purchase would have an impact on my weight-loss, nevermind a good one since we did buy it with the express purpose of using it to roast some giant marshmallows we picked up at the grocery store a few weeks back.

We had a fantastic lunch of roasted pork loin and sauteed veggies (which I shall tell you about in another post!), so dinner was a bowl of cereal on the patio while we watched Honey assemble the fire pit (sans directions, of course). Then there was building the fire.

Honey is the manly-man sort, and I really love that about him. But the man is no boy scout. In clarified terms: he can't build a fire to save his life. In defence of his ego, I have to say that I don't think it's a matter of skills or lack thereof, it's just plain old bad mojo. Case in point: there have been times when the man couldn't get a Duralog to stay lit.

Anyway, miricles happened Sunday night and after two tries, Honey lit the thing on fire. I was so proud. Granted, it took some coaching from me (Don't pile all those hunks of wood on top of it, Honey, you'll smother the poor little flame!) and a lot of twig-gathering from The Boy, but at last we had a miniscule blaze in our little pit. Remember, in Texas during a drought, anything more would have made me nervous.

We sat around the fire for a good half hour. We swatted insects and waxed nostalgic. The smell of the smoke brought me back to childhood camping trips and, specifically, eyeing a campfire from my perch on a yellow training-potty while utterly nekkid. (Yes, I remember things from when I was two. I remember my first birthday party, too but don't ask me where I parked the car at the store...I don't remember.)

Anyway, on the heels of my memories of potty-training camping trips, The Boy piped up:

What about those marshmallows, Daddy?
Not one to delay a sugar fix any longer than necessary, Honey immediately went to help him get out the fixins for S'mores. I find it interesting as they came back out with arms full and began to arrange ingredients within reach of their chairs, that The Boy inquired as to the number of points in a S'more. I guessed seven. I might be wrong.

I had budgeted points for a single one of the oversized marshmallows. Those sugar-puffed suckers were three times the size of a normal mallow and were going to cost me two points, so one was plenty. I skewered my victim and proceeded to burn it crispy and black, just the way I like it. It was murderous, waiting for it to cool enough to eat without burning my tongue and, lemme say, it was two points of sugary delishiousness! As I popped the last bite in my mouth, I was thinking about another one. I had the points. I could if I wanted to. I could have two more, in fact.

But I waited. How unusual. That's when it happened!

As I dallied in my decision, the sweetness faded away, leaving only the bitter taste of burnt ash. It was awful.
We all know that the old Sazzy wouldn't have waited long enough for that taste to begin with. If she had, she would have quickly covered it up by cramming another roasted mallow down her gullet. The new Sazzy did not.

I can hardly believe it, but I thought to myself: Geez, that was hardly worth it! And I got up, went inside and brushed my teeth.

More amazing still, I accidentally forgot to eat my last five points before bedtime. I didn't even realize it until this morning! It makes me wonder at how I used to ignore my taste buds in addition to all my body's other communications regarding food. It's amazing what can happen when we stop medicating ourselves with food, or just eating out of habit, or eating because something is supposed to taste good. How many times have I eaten something decadent when my mouth wasn't really thrilled with it to begin with?

Thank you, Marshmallow! Thank you, Firepit! I appreciate the memories and the lessons, too!

QUICK! Somebody Nominate Me for the Nobel Peace Prize!

Weight Watchers World: Thursday, May 12, 2011

Seriously, I have found the nutritious, low-point solution to the mad-crazy peanut butter cup craving.

Oatmeal with Splenda, peanut butter and Ovaltine!

I was literally crying for joy into my bowl last night as I licked the last creamy oats from my spoon...and then from the bottom of the bowl. Just think of the marriages that will flourish in the wake of my 7-PP discovery; the waistlines that will deminish! The wars that will be avoided! The mirrors that will not be smashed! The scales that will not be crushed!

No, I don't think that the Nobel Prize is too much to expect for this.

Anyhooooo...

I was talking to a friend last night and she was saying all the things I used to feel. Like:

"I'm hardly eating anything and I'm hungry all the time. So how can I possibly still be gaining weight?"

It's a frustration I am glad to have unloaded. Of course, that was the point at which our conversation turned to Weight Watchers. And I saw her light turn on. I remember years ago, when my switch finally flipped, too.

There is a way of eating out there that takes the mystery out of that ascending number on my scale!
And WW has delivered on that promise. I'm so glad. I can deal with weeks where I don't lose, or lose only a fraction of a pound, because I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life anyway. So what does it matter? And the thought of indefinate WW membership...does not stir dread in my heart. I'm good with it. Really good. So good I want to share the joy. And I do.

So far, two co-workers have joined me on plan and a third is ready to sign up. Is it too much that in addition to the Nobel Prize, it is a goal of mine to convert the whole world to WW? Nah!

Revenge of the Indian Buffet

Weight Watchers World: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I am so reminded of why I am doing this!

Went out to dinner last night (yay). Got to the restaurant and realized they were closed (rats). Instead we went a couple doors down to an Indian buffet where we have been many times.

To make a long story short, I knew I shouldn't go back for that second plate, but I was pretty proud of myself for mostly doing the vegetarian dishes and skimping on the potatos and bread. I limited my rice and had the tandoori chicken, but still: two plates.

And the Indian buffet exacted its revenge.

I left the restaurant so full that the feeling nearly classified as "painful" and so thirsty that upon arriving home, I drank water until I literally thought I might throw up. It was not pleasant. Mild heartburn elbowed me awake around 1 am.

This morning, at about the halfway point of my mile-long hike from my parking spot to my desk, the Indian buffet made its presence known one last time. Suffice it to say that the buffet was about to leave my body in a completely undignified hurry.

I am relieved to report that I did make it to the ladies' room.

It's amazing to me, but in spite of my gluttony, I stayed On Plan. Really, I did. I used more than half of my weeklies, but that is still on plan! I did not binge. I did overeat, however.

I'm glad to have a reminder of why I'm doing this and my reminder was certainly one I understood. I hated feeling like that. I don't want to revisit that condition again anytime soon. How did I live with myself feeling like that so often? I just don't know!

Once again, I am so happy that I am on a plan that is doable in real-life. Real life means that there are times that I eat too much. It is just going to happen. And I don't want to have to beat myself silly every time it happens. I want to be able to pick myself up and continue and all the better if I can track my splurge. If I still see a loss next Tuesday, that will be the sugar-free icing on my fat-free cake! LOL!

Time Warps, Doctors and Scales! Oh My!

Weight Watchers World: 5/8/2011 11:17 PM

Tomorrow morning is going to be good news and bad news. I get to sleep in, but I have to go to the doctor...that special doctor who specializes in women. Yeah...not a fun sort of man. It doesn't help that I've never been to this particular doctor before, haven't been to a doctor in nearly a decade, and...I won't post the poor man's name on this here blog, but lets just say that it is pronounced vrey similarly to the word "ornery".

I'm thinking that this is not going to be fun.

But on to what I really want to write about today: I got my scale!

It is lovely and digital and, according to advertizing, very, very, seriously, completely accurate.

Accuracy is extremely important to me. It appeals to the planner / organizer in me, I guess. My issues with my previous scale remind me of a very serious issue that popped up early in my marriage to Honey.

Honey is one of those people who think that the only way to get anywhere on time is to create a series of virtual time warps in your house. You know...the alarm clock is set ten minutes fast, the clock in the kitchen is five minutes fast, the DVR clock is telling you the time in China because...well, because that's where it came from and no one can figure out how to set it correctly anyway. EVERY.SINGLE.CLOCK. DIFFERENT. TIME.

Nearly drove me insane.

To add insult to injury, Honey insisted that he was doing all this to help me to get places on time. Right.

I won't claim to be perfect, but I will tell you: I was a slowpoke as a kid and I hated having that reputation. As an adult, I am extremely punctual. Not only did I not need Honey's help, but his "help" only served to confuse me and make me want to pinch his head right off his shoulders.

Anyway, all I wanted to know is: What time is it really?
We finally resolved the clock issues (read: I got my way). This brings me to the scale. It's been nice knowing how much I am losing, but i just gotta know how much I really weigh. Really.

Enter my new digital scale (who has not been named yet, if any of y'all have ideas). This scale has a lot in common with tomorrow morning: it's good and bad. Good because now I know exactly how much I weight. Bad because now I know that Harvey was off to the tune of fifteen pounds. And you can guess the direction in which he erred.

So tomorrow I have to make some adjustments to my stats. I'm disappointed to know that I have a lot farther to go than I thought, but if I can lose 100 pounds, what's 15 more, right? Besides, this isn't about how long I'll be watching my weight, I'll be doing it for the rest of my life, fifteen pounds more or not.

On the bright side, I have only 1 pound to go before I'm out of the 250s! That and tomorrow when Dr. Ornery (!!) inevitably ask me what I'm doing about my obesity, I have a good answer for him.

Have a great week, y'all.

Mother's Day Marvels

Weight Watchers World: 5/7/2011 9:17 PM

I'm sitting here observing the irony that, in pre

paration for Mother's Day, I just spent an afternoon slaving cake, salad and chicken that are to be srved tomorrow afternoon in my honor. How did that happen? Ah, I suppose it's more fitting than ironic.

Anyway, the food. I'm actually pretty charged about it. We're going over the BIL and SIL's house (brother-in-law and sister-in-law...I spend a lot of time with them, so they are bound to find their way into this blog from time to time) to grill. Marinated chicken and ribeye steaks are on the menu along with my SIL's specialty: a decadent casserole of hash brown potatoes, real sour cream, cheese and butter. I will be having a half a cup of that. If I'm feeling brave, maybe I'll ask her for the recipe and feed it through the recipe builder. Or maybe I won't...but I should, so I will. Sorry to vomit my stream of consciousness all over the screen...

I'm bringing a salad. I picked up organic greens and i'm slicing up some strawberries to go in it along with some sunflower seeds (yum, my new favorite thing to put on a salad). I'm going to go for the two tablespoons of low fat raspberry vinaigrette on mine. So...salad is good. Grilled chicken is going to save my hide when it comes to protein. As much as I love ribeye, i'll be having a few bites. That's it.

And cake. Oh, cake...my weakness, I admit. And I made a doosy for tomorrow. Don't worry, though, I was listening to my Fairy Weight Watcher. I made the lemon cake with applesauce instead of oil and it is frosted and filled with a combination of sugar-free lemon pudding and Fat Free Cool Whip. I even took a picture of it for you!

I promise to enjoy and track every bite! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms. AND happy Mother's Days to all those who help us be the mothers we want to be. Honey, that's just for you!

Extra APs For Odor?

Weight Watchers World: 5/6/2011 9:24 PM

Honey and The Boy are running around the house f*rting on each other. I'm afraid this is a very regular occurance around here. I'm not as annoyed about it as I would usually be and that's mostly because I'm wondering how many APs they are earning while doing it. Yep, it doesn't take much to distract mom sometimes. Especially when she is forcing herself not to lie to her AP tracker.

Amazing. It just figures that with my two men, gas would enter into such healthful practices as exercise. I'm about to faint from the fumes, but I'll go down with a grin because I'm reminded that moving our body takes all forms, even silly ones sometimes. I shouldn't try to be so dignified about it.

In case you are wondering, I am not going to join in. For many reasons. One of which is my pride in my delicate femininity. Another is that joining into their "game" would be akin to engaging a pair of nuclear warheads with a squirt gun. It's just not gonna work. I'm a little ashamed to say, but I've tried to fight back before. I've loaded up on yogurt, fiber bars and the like but, still, mama's got nothin'.

Anyway, off to an outdoor movie at our church tonight. There is going to be a concession stand *shudder*. Here goes nothin'!

Losing My Head

Weight Watchers World: 5/6/2011 1:27 PM

It is safe to say that I have indeed lost my head. Not my mind, my whole head. Figuratively and literally...well, sort of.

Between extra trips to various places for things I forgot and inane responses to basic questions, I am clearly not "with it" today. On one hand, I'm completely chalking it up to the fact that it's Friday and my mind mistook today for the start of a long weekend (unfortunately, it's long gone already and took with it the memory if its cell phone number. *sigh*). On the other hand, this has revealed one encouraging fact for me to ponder. Granted, it's odd, but unless you are reading this blog for the first time, you probably anticipated that.

The average adult human head weights between eight and twelve pounds. Since my top-knot is not oversized and I have lost 11 pounds in the last five weeks, I am going to continue along the path of thought that I began in my posts about my bunnies and the one about my pants...I have really, really lost my head. More specifically, I have lost the equivilent of my head...but with the way this day has been going, the analogy is working just fine.

In updates that would probably be considered mundane by non-Weight Watchers, I am a very satisfied non-dieter. I am never hungry, I am never deprived and I can confidently approach any food-involved situation and emerge on the other side unscathed. Miraculous. I struggle from time to time, sure...but for the first time ever, my mind is beginninig to close affectionately around the idea of doing this for the rest of my life.

Good things. Good things.

"Getting Thin Has Changed You"...Well DUH!

Weight Watchers World: 5/5/2011 12:17 PM

Most of us are aware the people (not just kids) say the darnedest things. It's shocking what pops out of the mouths of people who should know better.

As for the title of today's blog: no, I have not yet experienced this beauty but with more than a 100 pound loss in my future, I just might. I have to admit, I feel both anticipation and dread over it. Anticipation because I eagerly await the ligitimate use of the word "thin" in reference to my formerly fluffy self, and dread because the statement is so horribly glib.

Glib: Lacking tact and forethought.

It is a word I frequently weild against my unsuspecting Honey. Poor man. I do love him dearly!

Anyway, "Getting thin has changed you." I know you all can hear the words echoing in your ears, and the tone of voice you are imagining is making it clear that you are not being complimented. I envision an individual who somehow believes that my weight-loss has negatively affected my character and , thereby, their relationship with me.

Lets just state for the record, that there are plenty of people who get thin and in the process get ironically too big for their britches. The problem is not that they lost weight and turned into someone else, the problem is that they had character flaws from the get-go and losing weight just brought them to the surface in a more noticable way. But I digress...

Losing weight is going to change us. It just is. The same as having a baby or getting married does. As all significant changes in life, we not only have to adjust to how we feel about our selves, but to how people respond to us. I'm not going to pontificate on which is more difficult, but lets just agree that our self-adjustment is hard enough: people and their own glibness often make it that much harder. To this I add: it is especially noticable with significant weight-loss as everyone can see the change.

This blog is about change. Weight Watchers is about change. When people notice it, sure, they have their own take on whether or not they like it but the fact is that there are tons of people who don't like change at all, no matter what that change is. It's not your problem. Don't hate the people who have a hard time with your change, though. Remember how long it took you to change whatever you needed to change in order to just sign up for WW to begin with. It can be hard. For many of us, it's a choice we waffle about for years or make every January first.

So what am I saying? Change is just difficult. Cut your glib friends and family a break, and then continue on your healthy way and let them do their own adjusting. Sadly, this may mean the end of certain relationships as you knew them, or the end of them all together. Such is life, I'm afraid.

Don't let the things people say deter you from continuing in your good decisions. You're doing the right thing. Don't worry. You are!