my weekend strategy

I had a pretty good weekend. I went over by about 150 calories on Friday, BUT I'm okay with it since I still tried super hard and I was starving by the end of the night so I let myself have some ham and cheese so I wouldn't go to bed miserable. It was a night out with friends and since I didn't have many calories to spend, I tried to be careful. I did sort of impulsively have a watermelon agua fresca at the art show we went to, but I reigned myself back in afterward. I didn't have the free (well, donation-suggested) beer I was originally planning on.  We did all go to a bar at the end of the night and I only drank a grapefruit flavored vodka with soda. I kept perusing the menu half-wishing I could have some fried food but I remained resolute.

Overall, I made some healthier choices over the weekend that I am proud of. I let myself splurge on things that were worth splurging on. The Sunday brunch at Urban Eats had much more "worth-it" food than the Saturday breakfast at House of Pies, so I'm glad I ate the croissant and the brie and the mimosa at the former and had a basic, healthy plate at the latter.

I'm about a week and a day away from the 4 week mark. I will be weighting myself every 2nd Tuesday of the month. I'm a little scared to. I feel like I'm making a just-right amount of change. And if I only see a 2 pound loss over the past month, I'm afraid of feeling like "fuck this shit" and go back to pigging out every day. But hell, even if I only lost 2 pounds a month... over a year, that would be 24 pounds lost! Which is better than gaining 30 by eating in my default way (pigging out every day).  So even if I only lose 2 pounds a month - I'm going to try to be cool with that.

I'm feeling confident about this strategy of eating strictly within my 1,840 calorie allotment Monday through Friday and then on the weekend not tracking, but just trying to make some healthier choices where I can and then splurging in a thoughtful way. I like the break I get and the freedom I feel. Weekends have always been hard for me. Eating at a calorie deficit for 5 out of 7 days has got to make a difference, I'm thinking. And over time I can decide to push it out to 6 days and maybe even 7 eventually as I get stronger.

spending points wisely

Since starting Weight Watchers, I'm slowly learning that there's a right way to spend points and a wrong way.  Yeah, I could probably eat fast food all day and technically lose weight as long as I stay within  my points, but I'm trying to show my body some love.  Jack-in-the-Box and eating until I feel like I'm gonna pop is not love.  I have to be strategic in order to find that balance between fueling my body correctly and not depriving myself too drastically.  And I'm seeing it as a process.  Yeah, I still eat some junk food occasionally, but slowly  I will wean myself off of it.  I gotta say - I love that with Weight Watchers, you actually learn how to eat healthfully and you can do  it at your own pace.

Recently in an attempt to "use up the rest of my points", I went to Jason's Deli and got the salad bar and an ice cream cone for dessert.  Well within my points, and very healthy (the salad part anyway), but  it was just TOO MUCH food.  I felt so incredibly over-stuffed and miserable afterward.  Oddly enough  though, I still had a ton of points left and the day before my points re-set, I ate like, 4 skinny cow ice cream sandwiches in one day.  Again, within my points, but I'm realizing I'm still eating like an addict sometimes.  Cheap food is also an issue, like 50-cent hot dogs at Ikea.  I went a little overboard the other day.  I should not be eating that junk!  At least not without a good reason!  "Cheap" is not a good reason.

Some thoughts I had on how I should spend my points:

Worth it 
-Foods that make healthy stuff more appetizing, like full fat dressing on salad, chocolate on nuts  (plain nuts are so blech), or a tasty dip for fresh vegetables.
-Healthy fats like avocado, nuts, peanut butter, and the healthy oils I'm SUPPOSED to be having anyway.
-True indulgences like Godiva chocolate, Blue Bell ice cream (in small portions) or a cake pop or mocha  frappucino from Starbucks.
-Eating out for a special occasion at a nice restaurant.

Not worth it
-Stuffing myself just because I have the points, whether the food is healthy or not.
-Cheap or free junk food and fast food.
-Gross "healthy" foods that I have to force myself to eat, like fat free cottage cheese - *dry heave*.
-Alcohol, unless I am trying to get drunk, which I only do when I'm out dancing with a bunch of friends.
-Soda and juice. I've gotten very used to only drinking water.

I'm proud of myself for recognizing this problem and doing something about it.  About a week later I returned to Jason's deli but stayed away from the salad bar (something about buffets - ugh) - I got a grilled chicken wrap with fresh fruit on the side.  It left plenty of room for the ice cream cone that I still "had" to get.  Down the road I'll worry about consuming less sugar, but the fact that I acted out a strategy to not stuff myself at Jason's Deli was a big accomplishment. Go me!