New way to measure weight loss

There are a few ways to figure out if you have lost weight. The obvious way to do it is with a scale. Or, you can take your measurements and see if a few inches have fallen off. Or, you can try on your clothes and when they feel better, you have lost weight.

There is a fourth way. If you carry your weight from the waist down, like me, you can measure your weight loss by how well you fit in the airplane seat. Yes, I’m on my way home from Washington DC on my six hour flight. I have read two newspapers, taken one nap, and somehow there are still four hours remaining. Yikes!

So, I decided to tell you about my newest way to evaluate my shrinking butt. Flying economy offers very little excitement these days. My plane has no movies, no free pretzels and a $7 box of food, if I want to invest in it. I don’t.

My seat comes with two armrests, which are both mine because I’m on the aisle and nobody is in the middle. During the “heyday” of my travels before joining Weight Watchers, the arms on my airplane seat gripped me like a vice. Depending on the airline, I sometimes would leave with small dents in my hips.

The good news is that I have been on four flights during this trip and have left all of them dent-free. I have even factored in the that the aircraft have been different models, so I wasn’t falsely led to believe that I was smaller when, in fact, the seats were larger.

This exciting new measurement tool is the only thing I’ve got from 35,000 feet, but for me, it’s darn good news.

Talk to you soon.

Gone fishin'

In order for me to transmit my blogs, I need WiFi access. And staying in a hotel, I have two choices; I can pay $14.95 a day and use my computer in my room or go to the lobby and use the hook-up for free. By now, you have probably guessed that these blog postings are coming from the lobby.

Last evening, I went directly from my son’s house, where the WiFi was broken, to the lobby to post the blog. As I told you, there is a storm here in Washington DC, and I have been wearing my son’s yellow slicker all week.

Let me set the stage of this lobby for you. We are staying in the Fairmont Hotel and the lobby is full of very well dressed men and women who probably have something to do with our government. In the evenings, there is a pianist and cocktails are served.

I sat down in an available chair to begin my posting and that’s when it happened. A man in a suit who was sitting close enough to talk to me asked me if I had just gotten off a lobster fishing boat. Okay, I know I didn’t look like a government official, but I really didn’t think that I looked like that guy on the fish sticks’ box.

Good thing I couldn’t care less. I needed to get that blog posted because you are that important to me. Oh yeah, he was so appalled he left. The next time you pass the frozen fish sticks, think of me.

Talk to you soon.

Take-out times two

My husband and I have moved on to the next rainy city in our itinerary, Washington DC. We arrived yesterday morning, and it was pouring and it will continue until we leave on Saturday. I can officially declare our 10 -day vacation as the consistently worst weather we have ever had while traveling.

We are visiting our son, daughter-in-law and soon to be six-month old grandson. Now that the baby is hitting this milestone, he also goes to bed at 6:00 p.m., so we will not be dining out. Dining is coming to us in the form of take-out.

Last evening, we borrowed the car to go back and forth between our hotel and my son’s house, and agreed to bring food with us for dinner. We don’t really know Georgetown dining establishments at all, so when we passed a Mexican restaurant that looked like we could get it to go, we dropped in.

It was a bit of a challenge for me to find a meal that worked. When you are away from your usual “haunts” and making relatively fast decisions on a take-out line, you do your best to concoct a point appropriate outcome.

I had a burrito, with chicken, white rice, guacamole and green peppers. When I arrived back at my son’s house, I ate the contents out of the tortilla and disposed of the outer “shell.” It all turned out fine.

Tonight is pizza night. I’m sure I’ll be pulling stuff off my slice, but that’s okay. I get to play with my grandson.

Talk to you soon.

Thanksgiving Tuesday

I know that I told you that Thanksgiving was coming early this year. Celebrating with my family in Florida was scheduled for Sunday, the 8th, but it moved to last evening. It was all about the turkey special at Duffy’s.

I need to bring you up to speed. Every Tuesday is turkey day at the local sports bar/restaurant, Duffy’s, in North Palm Beach. I have to admit that I was a bit concerned that we were having any dinner, let alone Thanksgiving, in a sports bar, but I have been hearing about Duffy’s turkey dinners from my Dad for years.

So, off we went at 7:10 p.m. last evening to see what all the “turkey talk” was about. It is important to note that it was 7:10, because we missed the two for one drinks special that ended at 7:00. As the only non-drinker in the bunch, I didn’t care, but there was a sigh of sadness coming from the rest of them.

We all ordered the turkey. It’s easy to follow Weight Watchers when you have no access to the kitchen that prepared the Thanksgiving dinner. It came with mashed potatoes, stuffing, which I skipped, cranberries, gravy, which I skipped, and one side vegetable. I waited breathlessly for the main event.

And then it appeared in all its glory...four succulent slices of white meat turkey, surrounded by all of the Thanksgiving trimmings. It was delicious. And, the best part of all was the price. Each loaded plate was…wait for it…$9.95.

I may have to move to Florida and celebrate Thanksgiving every Tuesday. I’d be thinner and richer for it.

Talk to you soon.

Weigh-in day from Florida

Today, I attended my first Weight Watchers meeting in North Palm Beach, Florida. I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the weighing-in part. I actually knew I could stay for the educational component but didn’t know if my weigh-in could only occur back at home base where my permanent record is kept.

Good news! I could and did get weighed and I lost .4 pounds bringing my eight- week total to 10.4 pounds. And, as I sat in my meeting, simultaneous transmission was coming in from my son, Alex, in California. He lost 3.4 pounds bringing his total to 11.4 pounds in five weeks. We are both making progress!

Now back to the meeting. As I pulled up to the spot, I noticed that this “branch” of Weight Watchers is held in its own building with the name proudly displayed on the front. There were 25 attendees and the meeting leader was a New Jersey transplant who has lost 118 pounds. I felt right at home since I am also a New Jersey transplant who took a different plane and ended up in California.

We discussed holiday traditions and how to modify our usual behavior, which in most cases included overeating, and each member of the group committed to losing four pounds over the next nine weeks. I raised my hand in the commitment ceremony, even though my four pounds will have to be credited back to my California buddies. And, using my 50 pounds in 50 weeks model, I hope to lose twice the commitment in that period of time.

So that’s my report from windy Florida. Off to Washington DC in the morning to visit my son, daughter-in-law and grandson. I’ll be back in time for my next meeting in California.

Talk to you soon.

Weight Watchers from 3000 miles away

Tomorrow, at 9:30 a.m., it is my weigh-in day back in California. Tomorrow, in Florida, I found a Weight Watchers meeting near my Dad’s place at 12:30 p.m. As I sit with a new group of meeting attendees at exactly the same time (taking into consideration the three-hour time difference) I would have been sitting with my regular group, I will be able to report back to my buddies about the lessons learned 3000 miles from home.

I will miss my walk to and from the meeting with my son, Alex. And sitting in the second row with my friend Tammi and new friend, Scott, will have to wait a week. I wonder if anyone will notice that I am not a “regular.” Should I sit in the back row because there will be Florida regulars occupying the second row at this location?

I think that it will be an interesting hour, and I will be sure to share it with all of you.

Talk to you soon.

Sausage fingers

I’m staying on an island, Singer Island, and one side of the building faces the Atlantic Ocean and the other side faces the Intracoastal Waterway. That’s a lot of water and with winds at 30 mph, a lot of waves. Needless to say, it’s another non-beach day.

But, it was a day that included a three -mile walk. Last evening, on my way back from dinner, I decided to clock the distance from a point that felt like about a mile from my Dad’s building. It turned out that it was 1.5 miles away, so I figured that it would be the perfect walk.

When my husband and I started out, the wind was in our faces, but I had a lot of energy, so it didn’t matter. Having the wind at my back on the return should have been a good thing because it would help push me along when I started to get tired. What I forgot was the difference in temperature and humidity in Florida compared to my walks in California.

The last half-mile was a bit rough. I could see the high -rise building, which helped, but I was really hot and noticed that my fingers were swelling up…not a good look. My husband and I had pretty much stopped talking during those last few minutes. I don’t think he really cared.

When I crossed the finish line, which happened to be the front door, I forgot those last few minutes of discomfort. I was happy that I got out there and did it.

Talk to you soon.