Sticking with it...

The past few months on weight watchers has been slow. I've only lost 1.5 lbs in the past month- there were 2 weeks with gains, and two weeks of losses... so while I actually lost 4.5 lbs over the month, it was only a 1.5 total.

But I'm still sticking with it- trying to work out more, and being proud of myself when I make good choices. I'm eating more fruits and veggies, working out more, and trying to drink lots of water.

Total loss since August 2011: -41.5 lbs


And on the exciting side, I think Chris and I found our apartment for the next 3 years... we're waiting on all the paperwork to go though, but hopefully I can say the place is ours by the end of this week!

It's the final countdown...

I'm two weeks into my last semester of school ever... which is incredibly hard to believe. I'm already starting to work on my bar application. We're going to resume the search for a place to live outside of Philly soon, and I've begun the job hunt. It's hard for me because I still don't know what I want to do with the law. I know that I don't want to do criminal work, and I know that I've really enjoyed the courses I've taken dealing with estate planning... I'm just hoping I can find something that won't involve fighting my way in and out of the city every single day.

We'll see.

For now, I'm fighting off a wicked cold and trying to enjoy movie night with Chris. :)

Because I should be working on a take home final...

This semester has gone by so fast. It's been a blur. Here's a little overview:

We found a kitty we weren't able to keep, which lead to a roadtrip to Indianapolis a little before Thanksgiving. Atty has a home, and I got to see my friends David, Onnastasia, & their son, Hadrian.

My sister is pregnant, and cute as a button. Her belly is already getting so big, and she's not due until April! We found out about a month ago that she's having a girl. I can't wait to spoil my niece!

Chris and I went to the Melting Pot over Thanksgiving Break to celebrate my 26th birthday... I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20 now. I started to write "Sad day!" but as I thought about it, I'm a lot happier now than I was at age 20, even if there was more fun and less responsibility then.

I've been doing Weight Watchers for 16 weeks now, and got my "Stay and Succeed" charm this week. I've lost 35 pounds in a safe and healthy way- no 1200 calories and 6 mile runs anymore. I'm hoping to lose about 115 pounds total, and I'm hoping to achieve that milestone before Chris and I get married. We've found the ring and he's been saving the money, so I figure he'll ask me sometime in the spring.

I've revised my resume, and I'm going to begin my Philly job hunt over Christmas Break. It's less than six months until we move north!

And finally.....
I graduate law school in 5 months and 2 days!!!

An exhausting week...

This week is already crazy. There's tons of reading, lots of cleaning, and we "adopted" a new kitty. He showed up on my door step and didn't leave for a week. He's at Chris's house now, and is going in for his shots next week- then he can meet my kitty Toby. We named him Atticus Finch... Attie for short. Chris picked the name and said it could be to remind us of the kitty we got in law school.




Weight Watchers was disappointing this week. I followed the plan METICULOUSLY, and didn't even eat all my bonus points, and I didn't lose any weight. I had a big loss last week and haven't been sleeping well this week though, so that probably has something to do with it.


It's been frustrating going back and forth between Chris and my apartments- we're almost always at my house, but we're trying to keep the kitties separated until Attie has all his shots. The back and forth is frustrating, and I can't wait until ALL of our stuff (and kitties) will be together next year.

I'm keeping my eyes focused on the end of the week: Thursday, we're going to look at rings downtown (yay sparkly! yay engagement rings! yay Chris!!), and Friday I'm heading home for a visit with my immediate family and a visit to my grandparents way down in Logan, WV.
Here's hoping it'll be a fast week!

Balance

I've lost a total of 20 pounds since I've started weight watchers again, and I'm so pleased with how I'm going about my weight loss:

I'm not being crazy, all or nothing.

I go to the gym if I have time, which usually ends up being 2-3 times a week.
Today I went on a nice long walk with my friend Ambria at the rail trail. The weather was beautiful, and we talked the entire time. :)


I'm making sure I eat foods I enjoy that aren't exactly points friendly, but truly hit the spot. I fit them into my plan, and I don't feel deprived.

I know it will only get harder, but right now I'm really happy with how things are going!

Another week on the wagon...

I'm still loving the new Points Plus system on Weight Watchers. I only lost half a pound last week, but I got to my 5% goal, and I should have a good weigh in tomorrow.

What's really been helpfuls is finding little treats I enjoy that help me stay on track, but feel like I'm not depriving myself. I've really been enjoying Starbucks Chai Lattes, made w/ nonfat milk (4 points plus for a tall).



I get one a few times a week at the starbucks at school. I was also excited to see that Starbucks has a good nutritional calculator on their website. Check it out here if you haven't already.

I'm also doing things like getting my nails done, or buying magazines to treat myself. Here's hoping things will continue to go well!

Points Plus

When I found out that Weight Watchers was switching to a new program, I was very against it. I'd done the points system on and off from the time I was 16, and now they were coming out with something new? It freaked me out, and I vowed I wouldn't follow this scary new system.

But my weight was getting out of control. Chris and I were eating out all the time, and being lazy. Lots of movies and snuggling, not very much time in the gym.

This summer, we started looking at engagement rings, and I started thinking, I don't want to be a fat bride. I don't want to be miserable and feel self-concious on what's supposed to be the happiest day of your life. Also, I had to go on blood pressure medicine, and I generally wasn't feeling good...

So I decided to go back to weight watchers.

I'm so glad I did because I absoultely LOVE the points plus system. Most fruits and veggies are zero points, I always feel full, and I've lost 13.5 pounds in the past month. Things are going so well! :)

What I like most of all is that I'm trying to be sensible. I'm not going crazy, not eating and spending hours in the gym. This time, I'm going about my weight loss in a healthy and hopefully sustainable way.

How is it already September?

(Bear with me... short and random!)

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love the leaves changing colors, cooler weather, everything pumpkin, and the whole feel of the season. But I cannot believe it's already September!!

My summer in Philly flew by... Chris and I did something EVERY weekend. The zoo, the art museum, Phillies games, Peddler's Village, New Hope, wineries, a wedding in Lexington... the summer was a blur.

So we're back in Morgantown, school is two weeks in, and going well so far... it's the last year of law school. Next summer Chris and I will officially be moving up to Philly, since he was offered a big lawyer job!!! So proud of him! :) It's nice to know now, so I can already start looking for something.

I'm back on Weight Watchers, I've lost 9 pounds so far, and I'm really enjoying the points plus system. Zero point fruit may be the greatest thing WW has ever done! So far, I'm not having any trouble staying on track. Let's hope it stays that way!

Halfway through the summer...

Chris informed me the other day that our summer outside of Philly is half over. Today, I love it here.

We've been thoroughly exploring the area every weekend, and last weekend we went to Jewler's Row in Philly. It's two full blocks of jewelry stores... fabulous, sparkling jewelry stores. And while we were in those stores, we looked at some engagement rings. I discovered that the emerald cut engagement rings I love make my hands look like little sausages, so it looks like I'm going to be going with something a little more traditional. It was something that's made me smile for the past week. It feels like even just looking at rings is making our relationship even stronger.

After he took me to the land of the shiny, we went to Reading Terminal Market, and didn't leave until we had cheesesteaks, ice cream, cookies, and some cool art to take home. It really was the perfect weekend.

On Tuesday we went to our first Phillies game, and had standing room only seats. We spent the game walking around the huge stadium, and it was a blast. There's a picture I put up on twitter from that. At the time of this writing, it's still in the sidebar.
The weekend before, we went to the art museum, which was fantastic.




So even though I'm excited about all the fun we've been having, I am looking forward to going back to Morgantown and seeing all my friends. Then I'll have stories about people other than my love!

Slow down everyone, you're moving too fast...

The past few weeks have been a blur.

I finally have a job- I'm doing research for a Pennsylvania Bar Association committee, and I get to work from home. Unfortunately for me, working from home = 0 motivation, so it's hard for me to focus.

I spent the past week visiting friends from college in Indianapolis. We had a blast and fit the zoo, birthday parties, swimming, and shopping in a long weekend. Tomorrow I have to drive to Harrisburg in the morning for a two day meeting for work. Work is paying for me to stay in the hotel, but I'm rooming with someone I've never met... which kind of sucks.

Today I'm trying to work a bit, catch up on laundry, and get ready to leave again.
Busy busy busy...