Well, hello, blog - long time no see

I am still - just - signed up to WeightWatchers UK on line. I haven't blogged there since Christmas Eve 2011, however. I haven't been blogging much since the beginning of December; I went to a party in Glasgow with lots of other WW ladies, some of whom I'd met before and some I hadn't, then had a few days with my brother and his family.

When I got back, I discovered I'd upset some of the people at the party. How? By wandering into the chat room a small group of us used to find that they'd been talking about me behind my back. That really hurt. I'm rude because I don't hug the women who never spoke a word to me all weekend? I've bared my soul to you, but you cannot tell me in person that you think I have been avoiding talking to someone in the chat room? Someone who then makes no effort to speak to me at our hotel or at the party - despite being in a group of several strangers or near-strangers, and knowing how awkward that makes me feel?

Whatever! Two wrongs don't make a right, but two lefts do. Or is it three? I've better things to do with my time than moan on about the behaviour of those women.

The result of this is that I don't really feel like continuing my blog at WeightWatchers UK. I will probably continue to blog here, though - if I remember to!

So...this is what has been happening, weight loss wise. I had a lousy latter half to the year. I struggled to lose a stone and a half from the inception of ProPoints in November 2010 to August 2011, then hit the most horrendous plateau yet. Actually I plateaued continuously but managed to wriggle down the sixteens into the fifteens somehow. I got down to 216.2 pounds, or 15 stone 6.2 lbs if you prefer - and couldn't get below there, or even stay there, OR get back there. Twice in a row, I had my period and gained nine or ten pounds and couldn't shake all of it by the next monthly gain. Pissed off? Majorly, yes! End result? 244.8 lbs on the scales on December 31 2011.

Now. I had been bouncing around the top end of the fifteens/early sixteens up to around the beginning of November. Then it was a case of yoyoing from 16 stone 4 or so to 16 stone 11 or so and back again. I spent December going from 16 stone 11 or so up to 17 stone 2 or so, with a couple of hits of 17 stone 5. It has to be water weight, pretty much, some of that yoyoing up and down - the weight can vary by five pounds from week to week.

Am I downhearted? A little; I'm more disappointed in myself and disillusioned with ProPoints. The weight fell off before that! I suspect I have been too reliant on filling myself up with fruit. It may be low in calories, but it is full of sugar, and I rather think that sugar is more of a trigger for regaining fat than any other sort of food. So I've cut right back on fruit, to the point that I rarely eat it at all (again!) I've been a little lax on the vegetables front, too, to be honest. Doesn't help that my husband doesn't much care for most veggies, and I haven't been producing salads due to the cold weather. I don't see why I can't eat pretty much the same way all year round, but it hasn't been turning out like that.

What I have been doing is adopting more of a Filling & Healthy approach. I can eat what I want within reason from a list of particularly filling and healthy foods. Most fruits and vegetables are on there, as are reduced calorie bread, baked beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes and so on. (It reminds me a heck of a lot of Slimming World, actually!) I do at least have some idea of portion sizes these days; I must though weigh things like pasta and potatoes so as to be sure I am not going overboard. I don't often weigh things like chicken breast or pork chops, though, I just have one and assume that is an adequate portion size. Could be a mistake, but it didn't hurt pre-ProPoints. Could be doing harm now I am lighter, of course, or was lighter, rather.

I have been eating a lot more protein, hardly any fruit, a small amount of vegetables and some carbohydrates such as whole grain bagel thins and reduced-calorie bread or sharing a packet of microwave rice with my husband. I aim to have two or three smaller meals a day, and a decent evening meal. If I want some chocolate in the evening, I have it. I just don't stuff my face with it. I might have a tin of pinto or navy beans with a small amount of tuna or salmon and a dash of balsamic vinaigrette dressing, or a bagel thin with cheese, or make chicken noodle soup from leftover roast chicken. Tonight I will be making pork goulash, and I am pretty certain to have some leftovers - that's goulash soup for lunch tomorrow. Sometimes I just grab a protein shake or a meal replacement bar. No, not WeightWatchers at all, but I am not quite following Filling & Healthy. Instead, I read about this plan devised by a lady who lost 175 pounds by eating four small protein-based meals a day with a larger evening meal comprising a protein source and plenty of vegetables.

I don't believe in cutting back on carbohydrates quite so much as this lady, so I am including a small amount of rice or potatoes with my evening meal, and maybe having a bagel thin with my lunch or breakfast. I know I am a night time nibbler, so I sometimes save a small meal for a late-evening supper; typically I will save half a tin of beans and mash those with some low-fat cheese or a small piece of blue cheese and stick that in a toasted bagel thin, or just have a slice of real cheddar in a toasted bagel thin. Makes a pretty effective toasted cheese sandwich without having to do anything more than toss the unsplit bagel thin in the toaster till it pops, then peeling the two halves apart and whacking a slice of cheese in there.

I've also been wandering around with ankle weights on for several hours over the last couple of days, while doing housework or wandering around the BX. I bought an iPod Shuffle the other day and have a running playlist on there. Today I downloaded weeks 2-9 of C25K and will probably start on that either later this afternoon or tomorrow. I really need a shower - I hate running when my hair is greasy and I feel stinky, even though I am going to need a shower afterwards anyway! Plus I need to get in the basement and clean cat boxes. Yeuch! Yeah, yeah - excuses!

I am expecting to be below 240 pounds tomorrow morning when I have my official weigh in, anyway. I plan on sticking to this sort of eating pattern and throwing in more exercise and see how it goes. It can't hurt; if I see the scales starting to move consistently down the way rather than up and down like a whore's drawers, I will know I have hit on something that will work for me once again!

I promise to keep you updated, Blog.