And We're Back...

Day two back on The Game and I'm feeling so much better. Steve's on break this week and we usually battle at least a few days over his break so that he can get some alone time in the apartment. I really don't blame him. If the situation were reversed and he worked from home, I have no doubt that I'd go bananas on a daily basis. But, lucky for me, that's not the case. And so when a few days over his breaks he wants the place to himself, I'm all for it.

Today I landed at the Coffee Bean, then the Santa Monica public library and then Peet's Coffee on Montana. It always amazes me to see so many people who just appear to lounge about all day long with no real purpose of job to be tending to. Sometimes I think, "I'd love to be a lady of leisure strolling up and down fancy streets, wandering aimlessly from one store to the next and popping in for a latte whenever the mood strikes." But a larger part of me knows that I'd likely lose my mind if I didn't have a full-time job. The old me would have probably gotten some delish baked good for breakfast at the Coffee Bean, stopped anywhere convenient for lunch and then topped off the afternoon with a desserty type of food from Peets. But because I'm playing the game and I'm not losing points, I maintained the Game foods and made good choices all day long.

Part of the those good choices meant I had to pack a meal and sneak it at the library. Yes, I was that person. The one who snuck an f'n banana in the middle of the library. I'm sure no one smelled it, right? The same person who not so quietly unwrapped the babybel cheese while she thought no one could hear. But it's for the sake of the game and my overall health, so really, how bad can I feel? The answer, not bad at all! I took a lunch break at home because why waste all this good for me food I've purchased?

So it was a win-win situation. My day was perfectly productive and I was reintroduced to the imoprtance of planning and loved recognizing how much better it is for me and how much more it pays off in the end.

I wrapped up my day with a late night visit to the gym. Put in 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike. Tomorrow I go in for a Christmas present session with Britt. I'm equal parts excited and nervous. I haven't worked out with her in entirely too long and I haven't done a weight workout in well over a month, maybe even more. Yikes. Probably about two months; I can't remember the last time I did one, and am fairly certain it was before Ireland. No bueno. Anyway, here's hoping I can walk on Saturday. All I know for sure is it's only an hour! And I've always made it through a workout.

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Game On- Round 5 Begins!

Today I began another round of the Game On! Diet. It seems to have taken on a life of its own at work, which has been really exciting. It adds an entirely different element to the game. And with this being something like my 5th round of the game, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be motivated by many of my co-workers who are doing it the first time around.

Yesterday I hosted a conference call for over 20 people in my company who were about to begin the Game for the first time. It was amazing to see how far the game has reached and how a small handful of us have inspired so many other people to get on board.

More lessons learned and confirmed over my days off. I really shouldn't take days off. I'm just not there. I act like a complete ahole when I'm not on Game. I eat whatever I want. I don't workout. I ruin any progress I've made during the last round of the Game. And it's generally just a big waste of my time to take a significant amount of time off the game. So I'm determined to make better choices during the next break- which likely includes getting a side game in between.

I went to Trader Joe's (two different visits to two different stores because apparently every single f'n Trader Joe's has run out of almost everything in their stores) and stocked up on Game food. The dood who checked me out at the 2nd Trader Joe's store actually commented on my food and complimented me on my healthy groceries. It made me laugh, but also made me happy. It was so easy to get back into the game. By the end of my time off, I was craving the structure, knowing how important it was for me to stop the nonsense.

So this morning I woke up, weighed myself, ignored the number on the scale as anything other than my starting point for this game, got dressed and off I went for the gym. My body felt different. I felt like I had extra padding. Although I don't know how much of this is a mental thing. When I don't treat my body well, when I abuse food and don't place any emphasis on nutrition and exercise, I feel the effects immediately...at least I think I do. And regardless of how I may have treated my body in the past week and a half, I was happy that running didn't make me want to kill myself. So I'm not that far off program.

I'm feeling really great about this round of the game. I'm hopeful that I'll move beyond the weight that I've been hovering at. And in general, I'm very excited for this new year. It's easier for me to take care of myself. It's not such a struggle to step away from work. Or to ask for help. Or to say no to things that are going to get in the way of the Game. I enjoy the challenge of the game and am looking forward to kicking some serious ass in the next four weeks!

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Just What I Wisheded For!

Getting to spend Christmas with my nieces, Julia & Lila, was easily the best part of my trip back east. Here are a few videos giving you a glimpse of just how much fun Christmas really is with children!

Julia opening up her most wanted gift of 2009- a Princess Tiana doll from Princess & the Frog.


Lila experiencing Christmas with the help of Julia who gets just as excited to open up Lila's gifts as she does her own.


If you give Julia a mouse who eats a cookies.


Beauty and the Beast!


Lila Waking Up


Julia Telling on me for Threatening to go Back to Sleep

Enjoy!

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Week 4 Results- Game 4

Well I stepped on the scale today ready for this round of the game to be over. I've dealt with a lot of traveling and temptations this time around and being in NYC for the past few days has been difficult- but also very good for me to be on the game. It's so easy to recognize how different my choices would be if I wasn't.

I managed to get in another perfect point week! Which means, I am the winner of $150 for the individual with the highest number of total points. And I just made my weight goal- losing exactly the amount of weight I needed to. I was disappointed that it wasn't a bigger loss. A lot of the time it's frustrating that the number on the scale doesn't reflect all the hard work I honestly feel like I've put into this weight loss effort.

Before I started playing the Game, my weight loss attempts were all half-assed. They were lame attempts at trying to do as little as possible but expecting really big changes. I just wasn't ready apparently to put in the hard work, make the difficult decisions to see permanent and lasting effects. So when I do finally do it the right way, it is disappointing that the numbers aren't bigger.

But I keep reminding myself that this is a process. The beginning of a long process. And in the past four weeks I lost a total of 11 lbs (or 4.47%). These are numbers to be proud of. And if I hadn't been playing the game, I know my choices over the past few weeks would be much more destructive and all over the place.

The game has provided me with a lot of structure, responsibility and accountability. All things I know I need to focus on my long-term approach to getting this weight off and living a happy and healthy life.

We are taking a week and a half off the game and then start another 4-week round on Wednesday, January 6th.

For now, I'm going to enjoy a killer slice of NYC pizza!

I lost a total of 11 lbs or 4.47%

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Travel Planning & Preparation

Thursday morning Steve and I took off for the east coast. The night before I set aside a few meals to bring with me during our day of travel, leaving nothing to chance, and being completely prepared with four meals, just in case we got delayed for any reason. It ended up being an easy day of travel and I was able to feed Steve all across the country and help supply him with a protein bar when he was having a blood sugar crash moment (which is very obvious when he starts acting like a little baby for absolutely no reason). These moments still catch me off guard, and after being together for over eight years now, you'd think I'd be able to pick up on when he just needs something shoved in his mouth to take his bad mood off.

Regardless, before getting to New Jersey, I had planned Christmas dinner would be my meal off and Saturday exploring NYC would be my day off. I enlisted the help of my sister Kara to get some Game friendly food in her house so I wouldn't have to worry about not having the right food once I got there. It's gotten so much easier to do this game because I plan ahead and have no problem asking people for help. I don't worry about it being an inconvenience (even though I certainly understand it can be) so much as focusing on doing what's necessary to take care of myself. So, for example, while everyone else ordered and at chinese food for dinner on Christmas Eve, I had a chicken breast, brown rice and a salad. And on Christmas day, I was able to stay completely on program, with the exception of my meal off, because there was food I could eat.

It's hard to believe I only have one day on program left of the round of the game. I've been completely motivated by the prize for having the most points ($150). It's the only thing that's kept me completely on track points wise. Knowing I had a real shot at winning this in the beginning was fun, and then one other woman I've been playing with, Melissa, was determined to beat me and that put my competitiveness into overdrive. And then last week, Melissa lost points, and I knew that if I was able to play perfectly for the remainder of the game, that money was mine! So I have been working so hard for that perfect score. Enlisting the help of others and resisting too many temptations to count here. But it's also felt really great.

I've typically experienced a ton of anxiety before going home to see family. I've silently hoped, wished and prayed that no one would say anything about my appearance, yet knowing that I'd be silently (or not so silently) judged for it. But this time, I wanted people to notice my hard work. I wanted to be complimented and recognized for my hard work. And that did happen. My family was genuinely happy about my progress, impressed with my hard work, admired my discipline and supported everything I was doing. It felt really great and is just the fuel I need to power me through the last day!

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Week 3 Results- Game 3

My weight has done really weird things in the past week. When I (finally!) got home from Chicago, I was down 4.2 lbs from what I was when I weighed in last Monday. Then when I weighed in on Sunday morning, I was at exactly the same weight I was during last week's weigh-in. WTF?

It's insane how much my weight fluctuates. It's also really frustrating. The three of us who have been playing this game since August now (Katie & Cyrena too) have been struggling with staying at about the same weight. The time off between games clearly needs to be monitored a little better so that we're not going up and down and up and down.

Anyway, all of this to say that I was skeptical about this week's weigh-in. But am happy to say that I made goal- phew. Ended up losing 2.6 lbs.

The past week continued to be challenging since half of it was in Chicago. And I was determined to not use my meal or day off while I was there. I was dreaming about places back home that I wanted to eat at. So I prepared by making another visit to Whole Foods to stock up on food while I was there. And it helped that everyone around me knew what I was doing and helped in their own way.

It felt great to come back home and try and get back into a routine. I went to the gym the morning after I got back and ended up running for a mile and a half without stopping. Huge accomplishment for me and something that makes me really happy.

When I think of the "old me", I always go back to when I was running in high school. It's hard to imagine that I used to go out for a quick six-mile run (and enjoy it) without any difficult. I'm not sure if my goal is to get back to that exactly, but I do want to be in such good shape that running is more enjoyable. And just over 30 lbs lighter, it feels that way.

We're in the last week of this game and as much as I'm looking forward to the game being over, and even wishing it didn't go through next Monday (Christmas is going to be challenging and I have more traveling), I recognize that this is when I need to be on game the most. I have no doubt that otherwise, I would eat my way through New York City.

So instead, I'll be playing the game for one more week and hoping like hell that I go out strong! So far I have perfect points, which is rad, because if I can keep that up (which I WILL), then I'm guaranteed to get $150 for the player with the most points. And it's looking like our team will be the winning team, which is another $100. I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself, but I'm digging these rewards!

The game continues to work for me!

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Week 2 Results- Game 3

Down another 3 lbs this past week. Which is a huge accomplishment in so many ways. I've been in Chicago for a week now attending back to back meetings- for my department and then for the entire company. And I'm on the cusp of starting new hire training until Wednesday.

It's been a long long stretch here in Chicago. I've been tempted more times than I can count with open bars, popcorn, bags of candy, morning breakfast buffets filled with amazing looking croissants, more open bars, more free food, more buffets...but I've resisted it all! And it's felt amazing to be able to do it. Even more amazing is that it really hasn't been that much effort.

I've managed to keep me eye towards my day and meal off. It's been so much easier to decline all this deliciousness knowing that I had something yummy to look forward to. And I didn't over indulge, which is something I'm trying to work on too- not eating everything in sight during this small amount of time where I don't have to play the game perfectly.

Anyway, so I'm very happy about this 3 lbs. I'm still not where I was when I ended the game, but I'm getting close and I'm really proud of myself to stick with it!

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Week 1 Results- Game 3

Very quickly- this morning around 5am I had to wake up to get ready to fly to Chicago, where I'll be for the next week and a half for work meetings. I hopped on the scale and discovered that I lost 3lbs in my first week back on the game. I usually see a much bigger drop than that, but since Katie and I played last week, well, that explains that. And I still think 3lbs is great. I'm taking it.

I packed my scale, my workout clothes, made plans to do a Whole Foods run as soon as I land in Chicago to stock up on game foods, had the hotel put a mini fridge in my room and called Equinox to put me on the guest list at a gym about a mile away from the hotel.

I would NEVER have done 99% of these things before the game. I wouldn't have been thinking about myself enough to do it. I feel so much happier for being invested in myself enough to actually do all of these thing. This already feels like a major accomplishment.

I like this new Molly.

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Back on The Game

After being in Ireland for two weeks and being off the game for a little bit before that and a little bit after that, I was very happy to come home knowing there was a new challenge to the game awaiting me. As much as I had hoped to be "as good as possible" on vacation, the scale says I went up 10 pounds. I can tell you where that came from- Guinness and chips (french fries in Ireland).

This isn't an excuse, because I knew exactly what I was putting into my body and was totally okay with it, but...Ireland really is not known for its cuisine. There's no Whole Foods, there's no big bountiful salads on the menus to have as your meal. Most times, your side choices can be chips (french fries) and mashed potatoes. Seriously, you can get both. There are definitely some veggies in there, and I chose that sometimes, but it's just not as easy to eat well. Plus, I have to say, their selection of Cadbury chocolate and other types of candy is off the hook.

We set up plans to get a game going well before I even left Ireland and I knew it was going to be around 8-12 people. Most people I had never even played with before, and definitely the most amount of people I've ever played the game with- some who had never even played the game themselves before. But having this plan set in motion was hugely helpful. I've recognized that if I'm not on game, I tend to go back to my old habits of poor eating and being on the game is what helps tame that.

So today I started up what I guess would be considered my official 3rd round. Katie and I have done little mini games before and after Ireland to help keep us from going off the deep end, but those only lasted a few days or a week. This game begins today and is scheduled to go until Monday, December 28th. I'm not entirely sure playing the game over Christmas (which I'll be celebrating in NYC) is the right way to go, but part of me is definitely up for that challenge.

I am playing with Katie and two people who have never played before. We're playing against Cyrena, someone who played a two week game with her while I was in Ireland and then two other people who have never played before either. It's a mixed bag for sure, but I'm excited to spread the game to more people.

Wish me luck!

PS- For the record, during the five days I played the game upon getting back (which included Thanksgiving), I lost six of the 10 lbs I gained while in Ireland. I'll take it.

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Malahide and Last Day in Ireland

Today turned out to be one of my most favorite days of the trip. After a short drive from Cashel to Dublin (straight to the airport to drop Katie off for her afternoon flight to JFK), we had a decision to make. Once we dropped our things off at the airport hotel, would we go back into Dublin and do more exploring or would we just stay at the hotel and be low-key and responsible- pack up our things and get totally organized for the long day of traveling ahead of us?

Sawnia had mentioned going to Malahide, "They have a castle there." But we decided it would be much more fun to end our trip with a visit to the Jameson's Distillery. I mean, perfect, right?

But as the day wore on (and on), we kept thinking that maybe we'd just return the rental car and call it a day. That would be the easiest thing to do, right? I think we all can agree that we had more than enough fun on the entire trip and playing it safe on the last night certainly wouldn't harm any of us. As we pulled out of the hotel to return the rental car, I spotted a sign for Malahide- only 6k away and figured since it was so close, we could do that and then if we felt up for it, go into Dublin.

And I'm so glad we did. Malahide was by far the fanciest place I've been to in all of Ireland. The town part was super cute.



We went into a pub, Duffy's, for lunch and it was filled with very cool Guinness advertisements and cute old men lunching and talking.







Afterward we walked around Malahide (there was a Starbucks and a Pizza Hut, I almost felt like I was back in the States) before making our way over to the castle. We followed signs for the castle and I ended up walking along a very pretty and quiet nature path that sprawled around a park, a playground, soccer fields which eventually led me to the castle. It was a little bit of peace and alone time during my last hours in Ireland and I treasured it.





In front of the castle was the greenest green of any lawn I've ever seen. That's saying a lot considering just how much time I've spent in Ireland. I took endless pictures trying to capture just how green it was, but I don't think my camera did it justice. What do you think?







Intense, right? I have an amazing camera, but I don't think even that could capture just how lush this grass was.

From there I walked up to the castle. It wasn't a busy day, so I could wait for everyone crowded around the entrance and just outside of the castle to go in, and take pictures without anyone getting in. The castle was beautiful- simple yet elegant. And small enough to get in one frame.







I met up with Erica & Sawnia at the entrance and after walking through the gift shop, we continued around the perimeter of the castle. More pictures of more beautiful Irish landscape. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful backdrop to typical Irish countryside.







I liked today because it was unplanned and unexpected. And it turned out to be so beautiful and rich with color, life, history and surprise. It was a wonderful way to cap off our trip.

Because Gene couldn't meet up with us and the Malahide trip took a little longer than we thought, we opted not to go into Dublin. I'll have to save the Jameson's Distillery for another trip! Instead, we stayed in, ordered in Chinese (yes, seriously) and got our bags packed for the long day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow.

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