Most Amazing Cookbook Ever

I am sad right now, because I had hoped to tell you all about the most amazing cookbook that I found last night... only it seems to be out of print.

It's called "Fat-Free Italian -- Healthy Ways With a Favorite Cuisine" and the editor is Anne Sheasby. It's full colour, and each recipe has multiple photos -- of the cooking process as well as the final product. Talk about perfect for a cooking neophyte like myself! Each recipe comes with full nutritional information, including the ever-important calories, fat grams and fibre grams, making points calculation a cinch.

I bought it at BMV Books, my newest favourite bookstore in Toronto (not sure if they're in other cities or not). Honestly, the regular price on this book was $50, and I got it for a mere $10! Unbelievable! I don't know if anyone else will be able to find a copy of the book, but regardless I highly recommend checking out BMV's huge cookbook section. I'm also going to keep my eyes peeled for more books by Anne Sheasby, as a quick Chapters search reveals quite a treasure trove of low-fat cooking books.

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

How to survive New Year's?

Earlier this week I was thrilled to realize that Christmas and Boxing Day were technically in two different weeks for me, since my WI is usually on Tuesday. This meant I could use one week's flex points for Christmas and the next week's flex points for Boxing Day.

Of course I totally blew it both days and am pretty sure I went over my flex points for both -- but whatever, I just said I came out even overall (heh). But now... NOW it's New Year's Eve and I realize I haven't saved any extra points for tonight! How am I going to survive today on a mere 24 points, especially when I promised my boyfriend I'd meet him for brunch today? Stupid, stupid Meredi.

Thank goodness Tuesday starts a brand new, "normal" week for me. I tried to get back on the wagon after my feeding frenzy on the 25th & 26th, and I think I have, but I'm really looking forward to just starting fresh, being back on my normal work and exercise routine, and being able to use my flex points in the way I usually do instead of being forced to use them for these crazy holidays!

I am hoping to post some progress pictures soon... I am afraid to post my "befores" until I have some "durings" to make me feel better :) I'm going to wear my new black dress tonight though, so I'll ask the boy to take some pics!

Good luck tonight, ladies!

Best Moments So Far

I know that at some point along the way, I'm going to lose motivation. I've had a pretty easy 11 weeks so far... each week the pounds just keep disappearing. I know things won't stay that way forever, and I know I'm going to get frustrated.

In anticipation of the day things get more difficult, I'm going to list some of the best moments I've had since I started on Weight Watchers. Most WW people would call these "Non-Scale Victories" (NSVs). Hopefully I will be able to use them as inspiration one day.

• The moment my boss told me I was looking "especially lovely lately". I'm not sure if she knew it was because I was losing weight or if it was something else, but it still made me feel amazing.
• The moment I was able to fit into a size 12. I started out at size 16, and though it was great to fit into a size 14 as well, I've fit into a 14 off-and-on over the past ten years. In contrast, I haven't been a size 12 since grade 9 (11 years ago) -- and that was when I was much more active and not eating well (e.g. granola bars for lunch).
• The moment one of the trainers at the gym took my measurements for the first time since I started and was completely blown away!
• Today, when I was finally able to buy clothing at RW & Co. This has always been one of the stores that I've loved most but they never carried size 14 or 16. Today I went through the racks pulling off a dozen or so size 12s... and when I tried them on I realized I actually needed size 10s instead! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! :)

I'd love to hear about everyone else's favourite moments to date... if you'd like to post them in the comments or even if your own blogs that would be great! :)

This is me, Meredi

Hi, everyone.

It's been a while since I did this blogging thing with any regularity, so this feels a bit strange to me -- strange, but right. I have been thinking about creating a weight loss blog for a while now, because I've been spending so much time reading the blogs of all of the amazing women listed in my links at the right.

I'm hoping that blogging about my progress will:

• Help me feel like I'm contributing to the community in some way (giving instead of just taking)
• Provide me with a record of my journey that I can look back on in the future
• Give me a way to frame all of the thoughts and energy I've been devoting to this topic in the past few weeks
• Maybe, at some point, be an inspiration to someone as so many of the other WW bloggers have been to me

So, perhaps some introductions are in order:

• Name: Meredi
• Location: Toronto
• Age: 25
• Height: 5'9"
• Starting Weight: 200.8
• Current Weight: 172.0
• Goal Weight: Not sure -- maybe 155?
• Week of WW: Week 11

Thanks for visiting, everyone. I invite your thoughts, comments, ideas -- and wish everyone the best with their personal journeys as well!