Unhealthy Habits Out the Window

Maple glazed bacon apple. Lemon pistachio. Chocolate rosemary almond. Cornmeal blueberry. These are some of the donut flavors available at Dynamo Donuts, the premiere donut shop in San Francisco—and the donut shop that I happen to pass daily on my way to work.

For obvious reasons, Dynamo donuts are my weakness. The very thought of one makes me feel like a drug addict who needs a fix. But obviously when one is trying to lose weight before one's wedding, one must steer clear of such evil temptations.

The problem is that Dynamo Donuts also sells Four Barrel coffee. And that's my favorite coffee, and, as I mentioned, it's right on my way to work. So I sometimes find myself stopping at Dynamo in the mornings just to get a cup of delicious french pressed coffee. The intoxicating smells of donuts are always hard to resist, but I do a pretty good job.

Yesterday, I stopped at Dynamo for a cup of coffee on my way to work, and while I was there, I decided to buy a pound of coffee beans. What I didn't realize is that when you buy a pound of coffee beans, you get a free donut. Uh-oh. "Fine," I thought. "I can just give the donut to someone at work." I got my coffee and donut, got into my car, and proceeded to get on the freeway and head to work. As the donut sat on my passenger seat, it seemed to beckon to me. And in my head, I started to negotiate with myself:

"Okay, I'll just eat the donut, but then I'll skip lunch."
"No, then you'll feel like crap about yourself. Just be strong."
"But it's not even that many points. You can fit it in."
"It's not about the points, it's about being healthy and getting rid of bad habits."

This went on for about 10 minutes before I suddenly rolled down my window, grabbed the donut, and chucked it. Dramatic? Maybe. Litterbug? Definitely. But I did what I had to do.

Moral of the story? In dieting and nutrition, you can only be successful if you throw your unhealthy habits out the window. And sometimes that might mean literally.

Wearing a White Dress Means Waving a White Flag

I'm getting married in May, and I couldn't be more excited. We are now knee-deep into planning: we have perused hundreds of wedding blogs, sent out save the dates, found the perfect venue, booked a rockin' band, hired a fabulous caterer, chosen a classy color palette, started to handcraft DIY decorations... and yes, just last week, I found The Dress. It's strapless and simple and elegant and I love it.

But it also makes me panic.

My best friend Katie understands why. She is getting married three months after me, so wedding talk has dominated our conversations lately. The other day she called me and told me she had had a nightmare the night before. She had woken up that morning in a cold sweat, and hadn't been able to stop thinking about it all day.

"What was it?!" I asked.
"I dreamed that it was the day of my wedding..." she said, pausing, "and that I was the same weight I am now."

My stomach sank. I understood her nightmare because I have been having similar thoughts daily, and especially since finding The Dress. With six months left until the Big Day, the pressure is officially on: I need to lose weight.

And so about a month ago, I had to throw up my white flag and give in to a healthy lifestyle, punctuated by fresh fruits, vegetables and lots of fitness. In turn, I gave up on the just-sorta-watch-what-you-eat-but-really-just-eat-(and-drink)-whatever-you-want Diet (the JSWWYEBRJE(AD)WYW Diet, for short) that I had been embracing for the past year or so. I am now back to tracking obsessively. Moreover, I'm cutting down on processed foods and trying to choose more organic, whole foods. I'm also exercising six days a week, and three of those days involve getting up at the crack of dawn to attend boot camp in the park. I am drinking tons of water and spending my lunch breaks walking 3-4 miles... while pumping 5 pound weights in each hand. Yeah, I'm not messin' around.

The best part? It's working. In a month, I have lost 10 pounds. And I'm happy to wave my white flag and give up on my unhealthy habits, especially if it means being able to wear that perfect white dress in May.

After all, on my wedding day, I just want to feel comfortable and confident. And like the skinniest, prettiest girl on earth.

A Funny Thing Happened Today...

...or, "The Aftermath of a 5-day Cleanse"... or, "That Really Sucked, But It Worked!" ...

There are a lot of things I could have titled this post, but I decided to focus on the positive side of what Wino Loreal and I just did for ourselves. It's not completely Weight Watchers related, but in some ways it is because, in order to be successful on the WW scales, you have to embrace all things 0 Points Plus - namely fruits and vegetables. Which we didn't. We thought we did, but we clearly didn't. I'll start from the beginning but get to the good stuff quick...

Last month, we watched a documentary called "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" (available on Netflix streaming) which chronicles Joe Cross, an overweight guy who's also suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease and who's determined to regain his health, and his 60-day fruit & vegetable juice cleanse trek around the States. It was motivating to see someone so determined take things into his own hands and follow through on a plan to lose weight and get healthy. The people he meets and inspires along the way are the real gem of the movie in my opinion, and if you're interested, he has a website with his full Reboot program available free to charge to anyone who wants to follow along.

We wanted to try it. Not for the full 60 days, but maybe for 10. We took the quiz on the Reboot website and it told us we needed to start with the Reboot Entry program - a 15-day "journey" of juicing and eating raw & cooked vegetables and fruits. Sounded easy enough, but in the end we decided to do our own cleanse of sorts and combined Vegan + Raw for what I am calling the VRAWWW! Cleanse (trademark!). Only raw fruits and veggies. No meat. No fish. No dairy, carbs, beans, or nuts. We allowed olive oil and we did end up cooking our veggies on day 4. We went so far as to dine out at a Vegan/Raw restaurant called Cafe Gratitude which was nice, but let me tell you, their raw Deep Dish Pizza was neither "deep dish" nor "pizza". And the enchilada? Cashew sour cream isn't anything like real sour cream. I kid you not, the guys next to us saw we ordered all raw food and said "good luck" before we dug in. But I digress...

We started on Saturday 10/22 and planned for 5 days of VRAWWW! That morning, we got $80 from the ATM and headed to the Farmer's Market for the freshest fruits and vegetables around. We made a list of everything we could have and loaded up. We spent every last dime we had on extra avocados - the only thing I truly enjoyed for 5 days. We were excited about the possibilities around us - kale, chard, fresh tomatoes, squash, wild mushrooms, beets, cilantro, jicama, berries! As we spread the bounty out on the kitchen island, we plotted what we'd have for lunch. And once we finished that, we thought about our next snack. And after our snack, we wanted something else. And what should we have for dinner? We didn't leave the house all day. We were miserable; focused on food and all the restrictions around it.

Sunday morning - rise & shine to a delicious fruit smoothie! Now, what's for breakfast? (something resembling baby food if you must know) I could use a snack. How about lunch? We were stuck in the same pattern - comatose on the couch with no will to get up and go outside. We bickered. We had horrible headaches (no caffeine!). We slept. We begrudgingly went outside, but came back in 20 minutes later. We were so caught up on all the food we couldn't have it didn't even matter if we were hungry or not! That night was dinner at Cafe Gratitude (you read how that turned out) and, thankfully, a play we had tickets to...we had to get out of the house and we wouldn't be around food in the theater.

Monday? Better. I had a ton of energy at boot camp and was feeling great (albeit exhausted when 2pm rolled around). Tuesday? Even better. Easier and I wasn't so focused on food. Wednesday? Home free! It was Weight Watchers weigh-in and the scales would tell us if this cleanse did anything for our weight loss mission. Wino Loreal was down a pound and I was down 2.6. Not what we had hoped for, but we have to remind ourselves this cleanse wasn't so much geared towards weight loss as it was toward resetting our systems and getting us to think about food - specifically fruits and vegetables - differently. Last night we splurged with a piece of pizza and a beer. It was good. We didn't feel guilty. But we also vowed that those kinds of foods shouldn't be the norm in our diet, but instead be just what it was - a splurge.

And you know, a funny thing happened today. As I went to the kitchen for a snack, I looked in the fridge and saw all kinds of options staring at me; leftover pizza, guacamole, cheese, hard-boiled eggs. I chose grapes. Without even thinking about it, I chose grapes. And as I sat down to eat my snack, it occurred to me that our cleanse did its job - sure I lost a few pounds, but I also gained the instinct to make healthier choices.

Super Easy Weekend Brunch Bake

Here is the recipe from the super-yummy-looking food porn pic I posted last weekend. It is basically a dozen eggs, chopped up veggies of your choice, reduced fat cheese and, if you choose to add it, a breakfast meat. I have written it up the exact way I made it, but you can add and subtract to whatever suits your taste and/or what you have on hand. This recipe made 8 servings with 7 points per casserole piece. If you aren't serving that many people, you can keep servings for quick breakfasts on the go for the week ahead!

SUPER EASY WEEKEND BRUNCH BAKE

1 doz eggs
2 cups shredded 2% milk cheese
1 zucchini
1 green bell pepper
4 Roma tomatoes
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 stalk green onion
1 package (4 total) chicken sausage

Crack and beat all eggs in a bowl.
Crop up all veggies and sausage (or meat of choice).
Layer all chopped items in a casserole/baking dish big enough to hold all ingredients with room to spare when the egg bakes up.
Pour eggs over chopped ingredients, top with cheese.

Heat oven to 350, bake for 45 minutes. Depending on which and how much veggies you add, there may be some extra moisture in the bake. You can leave it behind when you scoop up your piece with a slated spatula.

HAPPY BRUNCHING!

This Breakfast is only 4 PointsPlus points!

Believe it.

Here's the skinny (haha, get it?)

• 4 egg-white omelet w/spinach, mushrooms, leeks, salsa = 1
• morningstar farms veggie sausage links = 2
• orange = 0
• coffee w/soy milk = 1

It's a New Day...

...and I'm feelin' good! (Because I finally re-joined!)

Should take some getting used to the new PointsPlus system, but already this morning we managed to measure out every ounce of our breakfast.

A Thomas' bagel thin (3 points) plus an egg (2 points) was a great way to start the day! I would have added an extra point to my morning had I not forgotten my travel mug of coffee, but maybe it's for the best.

Definitely in question for this site is whether or not to change the name now that we're working with much higher values for our beloved wine? Thoughts?

The whine on the wine...

Awe crap, us WINOS are SCREWED!

Today marks the second week of tracking for me on the new PointsPlus Weight Watchers program. Since the last quarter of 2010 was filled with the Giants playoffs and World Series win, then straight into the holidays, I am now paying the preverbal piper for the pounds I gained in the process. It actually feels great to start the new year with a plan to insert some sanity back into my eating plan.

So I've been learning quickly what is the same and what is different on the new points plan. As many of you I'm sure have already figure out, it comes down to this: slightly more leeway on foods that are not processed (i.e. whole foods), and more penalization for anything processed or carbohydrate-y. Guess what falls into the latter category BIG TIME: booze.

As I attempted to cut down on but still fit some doses of wine into my week, it quickly became clear how fast I was going to damage my points allowance if I went at this same ol' same ol'. Gone are the days of a bottle being 11 points. Instead try 25! Now, it's not apples to apples, as we now have an increased amount of weekly points to dole out to causes like this, but we're basically going from 3 bottles a week on the old plan to 2 on this plan.

A life or death situation? No. Probably smart changes on Weight Watchers part? For sure. Gonna take some adjusting in my weekly and daily life? Definitely!

As for the matter of this group's namesake, that is still TBD…….but ELEVEN POINTS will always live in my heart! And stomach. *tear*

The New Program : PointsPlus

With Weight Watchers unveiling their new PointsPlus plan, it feels like a perfect time to start back up (again!) and get tracking. Admittedly, I've gained back 8 of the pounds I had shed the first time around and I need to get back in check. (We'll need to come clean with the Backstreet Boy image and drop that weight loss meter down I suppose, too.)

I haven't cracked what this new plan means yet, but I did manage to find out that a 4oz. glass of wine has doubled from 2 POINTS values to 4 PointsPlus values.

And, even though it looks like the weekly allowance total has been upped to 49, this news seems to hit a little close to home for the Winos!

I will keep reading the site to bring you important wine & foodie related updates, but in the meantime, has anyone attended a kick off meeting already about the new plan? Any advice?

Chipotle Points aka This Will Ruin Your Burrito Buzz

The chain Mexican food restaurant Chipotle is a go-to favorite of mine. Even with as many authentic taquerias as we have here in SF, I occasionally find myself at Chipotle's downtown location to get my mid-day burrito fix.

When I first joined Weight Watchers, I found that they did not have the points of this restaurant on the online tracker. So I eventually got hold of the nutritional menu and made my own WW Chipotle choices.

Well, today I discovered that the points for Chipotle ingredients are now on WW. Yay! I immediately calculated two of my go-to items. A bad-girl burrito with the works (tortilla, beans, chicken, cheese, rice, sour cream, guac, salsa) = 24 points! Whoa! As I searched Chipotle on my WW iPhone app, I realized I had tried to do this calculation before on my own and somehow only came up with a 13 point burrito that I flagged as a favorite. I was off by more than half! How did this happen?

The smart-girl Chipotle choice, which I have actually ordered quite frequently since I joined WW, is my version of one of their salads. (Lettuce, chicken, pinto beans, corn salsa, fajita veggies, cheese, salsa as dressing). That costs me 10 points. If I drop the cheese, then only 7. Don't fall into the trap of going near their "Chipotle Vinaigrette", because that by itself is a whopping 7 points! You might as well just drink that down instead of the salad! Yeah, no thanks.

Now that I have a more accurate count of what is goin on in there, I will definitely only get a burrito if I commit to cutting it in half and making two meals out of it. Which all human beings should probably just go ahead and do anyways. Otherwise, it's salads for me! All the flavor, half the points. And GRACIAS, Chipotle, for being bold enough to allow your points to show on the tracker.

$4 a day

One of my favorite charities that I donate to every year (though not enough) is the San Francisco Food Bank. I think it holds a place in my heart, or should I say my gut, because I HATE being hungry. Other people, like my husband, hate me being hungry too, because when my blood sugar goes down, I turn into a bi-atch! So it makes me sad to think what it must be like for those who have to endure hunger all the time.

I also find it ironic that our daily Winos on Weight Watchers struggle here is to NOT put food in our mouths while others are struggle to find enough.

Recently the SFFB posted a link to the blog one of their board members is writing on as she challenges herself to live on the amount of food that food stamps provide to someone per day -- $4. I have been checking into the blog this week as she takes this challenge and it is very eye-opening…especially as I track my food today for the first time in months so I can try to NOT eat so much. Meanwhile, she is starving as are so many other people on government food assistance.

I encourage you readers to check out her blog and join me in being thankful for everything we have, which generally is way more than most:
http://fourdollarsaday.blogspot.com/

Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self

You better check yo self before you wreck yo self
Cos I'm bad for your health, I come real stealth...

Welp, it's been a cra-zay few months to say the least. Got married in September, honeymooned, had a birthday, and meanwhile the San Francisco Giants were battling themselves into and through the playoffs and became first-time World Series Champs. In the midst of all the mayhem, guess what didn't happen…..TRACKING.

From my best estimates I think the last time I was truly tracking via Weight Watchers was sometime in July. That means a 4-month lag in paying attention to what I am doing. Now that the aforementioned events are officially donzo, it is time to assess the damage.

In my previous post (below), I talked about the havoc the Giants baseball schedule was having on my own, and my weight. Watching games instead of working out. Drinking and eating junk instead of planning for healthy meals. Let me tell you what -- it was ALL worth it. With their huge trophy in hand, the season is now over, and so is this free-for-all that went on way longer than expected.

Come on and check yo self before you wrickity-wreck yo self

So chickity-check yo self before you wreck yo self...

Though I wasn't tracking, all the while I kept up with weighing in. Hey, I didn't want to completely flush my $39.95 WW payment completely down the toilet. Plus, even if I'm not trying, I still like to know what the numbers are. Today I did my official post-mayhem weigh-in. Overall weight gain from my lowest weight since joining WW: 4 pounds!

If you're foul, you better run a make on that license plate

You coulda had a V8...

I'm remembering back to all of the drinks and indulgent foods that have crossed my path in the last 16 or so weeks and, frankly, 4 pounds feels like I just got away with murder. It is a small price to pay for the caution I've thrown to the wind. I am thankful that my battle to get back down won't be insurmountable. But if I don't start back up again now, things could get real bad. I love fitting back into my clothes nicely. I love being in control and making wise choices. I love being creative with this plan to get me to an end goal. The last thing I will let happen is to let myself back to where I started. I don't care what life gets in the way, I never want to end up in that chunky chick prison again. As Ice Cube says, good thing I'm checking myself before I wreck myself...

Cause women like you gets no respect
B!!!h, you better run a check

The Playoffs 15

Anyone who's ever gone to college knows about The Freshman 15. It's the weight an 18-year-old puts on from being away from home for the first time, constantly surrounded by copious amount of food in the dorm cafeteria and all-you-can-drink keg parties at the fraternity house down the street. They are out of routine, not on the football or cheerleading squad exercising every day after school, and sleeping through any class that starts before 11 a.m. By the time they all go home for holiday break, boom! Everyone's chunkier.

When the San Francisco Giants baseball team was in the 2002 and 2003 playoffs, I found myself in a similar situation. Instead of going jogging after work along the gorgeous Crissy Field coastline, there were very important games I HAD to see…..at a sports bar…..with pitchers of beer and plates of nachos. The problem with a playoff series is that they can go on for weeks upon weeks. And if your team is lucky enough to make it to the World Series, as we did in 2002, those weeks turn into months. Before you know it, one missed jog around the neighborhood turns into 17. Pile the sports bar calories on top of it and you've suddenly gained The Playoffs 15!

The Giants' recent run for the pennant has proven I have still not taken these learnings and applied them. I have spent the last two evenings with my eyes glued to the flat screens at a place here called Rosemunde's Sausage Grill. It is every bit as delicious as it sounds. Literally more than a dozen different kinds of specialty sausages to choose from. The fries are to die for. And there's an excellent selection of specialty beers. So as I rooted for enough wins to take us to the World Series, I stuffed my face with said deliciousnesses. Never mind the previous two-week-long series that got us to this one, or the end of the regular season prior to that, which was a nail biter down to the end, so I HAD to watch all those games too.

Needless to say, Weight Watchers tracking is not one of the 'stats' I've been paying any attention to lately. It's much more interesting to see how our star closer Brian Wilson matches up against the league's other best pitchers. But, I am still subjecting myself to weekly weigh-ins. If I'm going down with the team, I at least want to know it. I thought I was beating the odds when last week when I weighed in at a new all-time-low for myself. Pleased as punch I figured I could keep on doing what I'd been doing and get away with it. Well, that philosophy turned into strike three when I stepped on the scale this week…… UP 4.5 LBS! It was a new record stat: largest gain in a week since starting Weight Watchers. Boy do I not need that on my ERA.

There are a couple more critical games this weekend. I’m not sure my behavior will change completely, but maybe it isn't necessary to sit in the sausage joint again for starters. Hopefully I can monitor myself a bit better and avoid another error on the scale. And hopefully I can celebrate doing so by popping open a bottle of champagne with a Giants World Series berth.

LET'S GO GIANTS!

How Winos Celebrate Birthdays

We don't celebrate with cake. We celebrate with karaoke.

So We Meet Again

I'm sure you all recognize the above image. The Scale. My mortal enemy. Throughout the years it has appeared regularly in my nightmares, cackling and taunting me. The very thought of stepping onto it at the doctor's office has caused me to cancel appointments.

But I didn't cancel my appointment yesterday. For the past few months, I have had to skip my weekly Weight Watchers weigh-ins because they coincided with my weekly team runs. I tried to stick with the e-Tools, but without those weigh-ins, I really had nothing to hold me accountable. So when I went in for my annual check up at the doctor's office yesterday after not getting on the scale for three months, I was terrified—and sure that I had gained all my weight back.

Before stepping onto the scale, I contemplated removing my jeans right there in the middle of the hallway—everyone knows they add about a pound!—but I thought better of showcasing my thong to the twelve year old boy in the room across from me, so I sucked it up and just got on. As the nurse moved the metal weight to the right—thud, thud, thud—I cringed. She wrote down the number on her chart, and I anxiously peered down at it.

The good news: When all was said and done, I had only gained 2 lbs. And probably only one with the jeans. Just sayin'.
The bad news: When all was said and done, I had gained 2 whole lbs. For the past three months, I haven't lost any weight. Boo.
The lesson: The weekly weigh-ins matter. Though the cackle of the scale rings in my ears and conjures up feelings of fear and inadequacy, I need it, because it is what ultimately keeps me in line.

So I just upgraded my membership from e-Tools only to a full, monthly pass. Weigh-ins start back up again next week. I have waged a full-on war with my mortal enemy, The Scale—a war I plan to win.

I did it!

Cue "Eye of the Tiger," everyone. Because I killed the Kauai Half Marathon last week! 13.1 miles? Check! PLUS, I raised over $5,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the process thanks to the incredibly generous support of friends and family, many of whom are reading this blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


It was my first race, and traversing the garden isle of Kauai before the sun even came up was a surefire way to get me hooked on marathon running. Watching the sunrise over the lush, green mountains as I approached mile 5 was definitely one of the more unforgettable experiences of my life—as was the incredible rainbow that appeared in the sky above me just half a mile before crossing the finish line.

I didn't get the greatest time—my average pace was exactly 11 minutes per mile—but in my defense, the course was really tough! Very hot and VERY hilly! I consider it good practice for the Nike Women's Half Marathon, which I'll be running in October in San Francisco. :)

So what did I do to reward myself after successfully completing my first Half Marathon?

Spent 10 amazing days on the island with my best friend.

Took in incredible sunsets.

Kayaked tropical rivers.

Hiked to secret waterfalls.

Explored the wondrous and mysterious Na Pali coast.

Floated among hundreds—hundreds—of dolphins.

And, of course, indulged in many a delicious, fruity cocktail!

Bring on the next race!

Summer in San Francisco

I am wearing a scarf today. It is the middle of August.

Even though us San Franciscans get tired of hearing it, the old Mark Twain quote rings all too true: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

How does this relate to weight loss? Well, I mentioned the scarf. But add to that the fact that I wear a fleece everywhere I go because it's been too cold not to. My daily outfit all summer has consisted of a fleece or vest, and a different colored scarf. Welcome to Summer in San Francisco.

Let the below picture from Wino JWHA's birthday last week serve as proof of that.

Sure, we all had a great time... but notice how everyone's in winter clothes? Turtlenecks, scarves, sweaters... even a wool coat! It just ain't right.

When I lived in places that had hot summers—L.A., Boston, D.C.—I had more motivation to lose weight, because I knew summer's arrival meant the donning of summer apparel: shorts, skirts, tanks, bikinis. Because San Francisco summers are an exception to the "hurry-and-lose-weight-so-you-will-look-decent-in-that-bikini" rule, I have lagged this summer, and have sort of fallen off the Weight Watchers wagon. I guess I have gotten a little too comfortable in my fleece and scarf.

But I leave for Kaua'i two weeks from today. The fleece is coming off, and the bikini's going on. And when I get back, it will be Fall in San Francisco—which means warmth and sun.

So it's on. No more lagging. Back to tracking, tracking, tracking. Because my scarf and fleece won't be there to save me in Hawaii—and they shouldn't have to save me now, either.

Say Yes To (zipping up) The Dress!

Now that Wino Tristan's wedding is complete (see post below), it is on to the next one. T-minus 4 weeks til showtime for me and plenty still to do. After a grueling 16 week order time, I was finally able to pick up my wedding dress this weekend. The wedding dress I started this whole Weight Watchers thing for in the first place.

I wasn't exactly thrilled with the whole wedding dress process. First, it's a lot of work getting those things over your head and back off again, not only for you but for the salesperson helping. By the time you try on a dozen, it is practically a workout. Then, most if not all of them were 2 sizes down from what I wound up ordering. So instead of stealthily slipping up the zipper of them, the helper girl would have to pull the sides back to give me a better look of how a more appropriate size might fit. Not exactly an ideal way to get excited about the thousands of dollars you are about to spend when one is pouring out of satin and lace. Hmph.

Sixteen weeks is a long time to wait for something. When I plopped down my credit card for the most expensive garment I have ever bought, it was early April. I looked back at my progress on the Weight Watchers weight tracker since that time and was surprised to discover I have, overall, only dropped about 6 pounds since then. Talk about some yo-yo dieting! The strange thing is, my body now is noticeably slimmer. I don't know if I've gained muscle or what, but even with only a 6 lb total difference since then, I walked into that bridal shop in better shape than when I placed the order.

Not really knowing what to expect when it was time to see how my dress would fit, the sales chick and I did the shimmy once again to get the thing over my head. Then, time to zip. Expecting some sort of a struggle, I literally had to ask her -- is it all zipped up? "YES!," she said. Whew! I thought. I looked at the front and back in the three-way mirror and was relieved to see that I was pretty happy with the way all body parts were being displayed inside and out of the thing. Granted, it is built to hold your junk in place and make it look good. But, hey, I was holding up my end of the bargain too!

So, the stress is over, right?! Wrong. Now time to find a decent tailor that won't cost me another grand to make a few final adjustments. At least I'm not worrying about them having to somehow let the thing out though. If that were the case I'd be seriously contemplating pulling a Bridezilla!

(Please pardon the wrinkles in the dress picture; it has not been presssed for wear yet.)

To Have and to Hold...On to Pounds!

It is exactly one week until my father walks me down the aisle. It has been a blur of activities, mostly fun, but some stressful. I had heard that in the weeks prior to your wedding, pounds magically fall off! “Don’t worry, Tristan, you will drop, like tons of weight right before the wedding.” Well guess what, that DOESN’T happen. It is true that I am just three little pounds away from my goal weight, but I am here to report that it was done through good, old fashioned weight watchers hard work. After the famous nacho blow out (with fellow bride and wino, Erika), I knew something had to change. I began watching portions and counting points- something, I confess, I hadn’t done in months. With all of the wedding activities, I was able to maintain, but not lose. So two weeks ago, I made a few small changes: more protein, less quantity, and fewer sips of wine. The result: 5 pounds and more nipping in of the wedding dress.

As I stood in the fancy-pants bridal salon and took a look at my arms, I realized that I have lost 28 pounds. It took a whole year to get it off and I am still not at the finish line. However, I am ready to take my fathers arm and to smile, knowing that I worked hard to get where I am. Just because I am getting married, doesn’t mean that the barn door is open for cheese and bread fest. Instead, I will continue to strive for the balance weight watchers has helped me achieve. When I started at weight watchers, my motto was “Slow and steady wins the race.” Instead of thinking that I had to lose 30 pounds (sounds scary, doesn’t it!), I just took it day by day and bottle of wine by bottle of wine. And now, I am the bride I want to be. Thanks to all of my fellow winos & to my fabulous fiancé for supporting me and for tell me to slowly back away from the gummy worms.

Signed, The Future Mrs. Margetson

Three Words: Dulce....de....Leche

It means "milk caramel" in Spanish and its DELICIOUS. It is said that dulce de leche originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1829. I'm sure everyone has heard of it by now. In 1997, Häagen-Dazs introduced a dulce de leche flavored ice cream; in the same year, Starbucks began offering dulce de leche flavored coffee products. And in 2009, the Girl Scouts introduced a dulce de leche flavored cookie.

A few months back I blogged about wanting to slim down for an upcoming wedding I was going to in Buenos Aires. My goal was to lose 10 - 15 lbs. Well, I didn't quite make my goal, but I was down about 9 lbs by the time I left. I got home on Wednesday morning after an awesome week of visiting with friends, exploring a beautiful city, drinking incredible Malbec wine and indulging in...you guessed it, copious amounts of dulce de leche.

I think we can all agree that its pretty difficult to count points while on vacation, especially in a foreign country where the nutritional information, if its even listed, is in a different language and usually a different unit of measure! Anyway, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

How many points do you think this would be?


Yes, that's what homemade flan is supposed to look like. And because flan isn't rich enough, you simply must add about a 1/2 cup of dulce de leche on the side...and you MUST eat it ALL. It would be rude not to.

Or what about a portion of one of these dulce de leche flavored desserts?


I don't know either...but let me tell you, it was worth it!



I think that crazed look in my eyes says it all.

Skinny Bitch

I recently started working more closely with someone in my department at work on a new project. Lets call this person Skinny Bitch. Skinny Bitch is funny, nice, super cute, a great dresser, and, you guessed it….skinny!

This week, Skinny Bitch and I happened to be walking out of the office for lunch around the same time. Skinny Bitch asked me where I was headed. I paused in my head for a second, wondering if I should tell her I was walking down to Weight Watchers to do my weekly weigh-in. But I then immediately told Skinny Bitch this info, because hey, I'm telling the freakin world about it on my blog, I can let this co-worker know what I'm up to. She's a Skinny Bitch, so she probably won't understand, but whatever.

As I blurted out my lunchtime errand, she mumbled something about knowing about that. I shrugged it off and went about my merry way, wondering what indulgent lunch she would come back with. Because as we all know, or assume anyway, Skinny Bitches can eat whatever they feel like and it NEVER comes back to haunt them.

Later that day, Skinny Bitch and I were standing around the same post-work happy hour. She was nibbling on a cheese plate, one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. Figures! As we sipped out drinks and chatted, she asked how my trip to WW went. "Oh great," I responded. "Down a little more than a pound this week!"

Skinny Bitch then proceeded to tell me how much she digs WW and had previously lost 35 lbs, yes THIRTY-FIVE pounds, on the program. My mind was spinning! How could this be?! She's so…….SKINNY. She shared with me how she used to be a bit chunkier and I listened in awe. Though she no longer does the weekly WW thing, she still abides by what she learned from the program. The big things she did to achieve success: 1) add veggies to everything, and 2) cut all portions in half.

Well, what I learned that day was that WW works! And that you never know who around you might have gotten their skinny-on by counting points. Just look at Skinny Bitch! She is proof positive that someday, someone just might, if I'm lucky, call me Skinny Bitch too.