It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. Last weekend, we ran a lot of errands, including a trip to Lancaster to buy an aquarium. We went to several stores in York without finding what we wanted. Finally, someone suggested a place in Lancaster. This place has every shape and size aquarium you can imagine (they even sell a 1,000 gallon acrylic aquarium) along with a massive room filled with fresh fish, saltwater fish and aquatic plants. I kid you not when I say this place was the size of a Wal-mart.

Anyhow, today's topic is individual events. I went for weigh-in today and, after being down .8 last week, was up 1 this week. I couldn't figure it out. I knew I didn't track like I should have, but I didn't think I did too badly. I had a treat or two, and then I remembered.

It's an amazing thing, really. Individual events in the course of a week can be rationalized without realizing its effect on the big picture. They can also be selectively remembered. A family dinner out where you splurge a little is conveniently forgotten when you are rushing to get something for lunch for the drive between meetings. This is forgotten when you take the family out to a favorite restaurant (even though you pick the healthiest items on the menu). You also forget about the desert that you had one night instead of the light potato chips.

Each event, taken individually is not destructive. One would argue that a successful eating plan should include these treats. The problem, of course, is that each event cannot be taken individually. Each event should be considered as part of the whole. Going out to dinner one night should be tracked and remembered when you go to the drive-through for lunch. If that can't be helped, and sometimes it can't be, you need to adjust the rest of the week. This is where effective tracking comes in.

No one likes paperwork, and tracking is paperwork. I know, though, that when I do track, I lose. I have options with Weight Watchers. I can track online, on paper or on my iPhone. I have to maintain the discipline to take a few minutes to track every day so that my eyes can stay on the big picture and so individual events don't break away from the chain.

First week...

Ok, so we are a week in to the new Alli combined with Weight Watchers program. I counted fat, I counted points, I exercised. The scale at home went steadily down to the tune of six pounds through the week. I was stoked, ready to go into the weekly meeting and trumpet my triumph. I even weighed myself before I left for the meeting so I would know what to expect with the clothes I was going to wear that day.

I get to the counter, sign in and step on the scale. Watching with a smile, I saw her write the new number down. According to their scale, I was down ONE POUND. I was confused, I was dissapointed, I was destroyed. All that work, the careful checking. Granted, the home scale wasn't always 100% reliable, but I expected at least three pounds. Maybe it was our scale...

So, we bought a new scale. Nothing too fancy, but nothing cheap, either. I tore it open, get on and...I was down six pounds from last week. Hmmm....now I know that weight fluctuates, but I don't see it fluctuating by five pounds in under an hour, especially when I have nothing to eat or drink. I amlost wonder if the scale I chose at this week's meeting might have been off by a pound or more. While Weight Watchers does keep their scales pretty well tuned, it's not unheard of. Those scales get a lot of work in a week. I have a funny, funny feeling that I will see a big drop next week, especially since I won't go to that station again.

I know I lost more than one pound, despite the agruing scales. How do I know? I wore a shirt this week that I haven't worn in a year and a half because it was too tight to button. It fit very well. My pants are also fitting better, another sign that the weight is slipping off. These NSV's (non-scale victories) were enough to get me past the numbers and keep me on-track. Oh, and the fear of fat. While there have been no more "treatment effects" (don't you just love marketers?), I do live in fear and watch those numbers closely.

All-in-all, a positive week. A lot of habits are being changed for the better. Success or failure cannot be guaged with one week, but only after the entire picture has been seen.

One plus two plus one plus one...

So, I was originally going to make this a weekly blog, and still might. I had an experience this morning that I want to share, albeit in an edited form. If you are considering taking Alli, know that the "treatment effects" (if you want details, read the package...I know, right!) are very real. I made a nice Sunday breakfast for the family. We had eggs (I used egg whites for myself), turkey bacon and toast. I carefully counted the fat to make sure I stayed in the plan's average...except I forgot to count the spread I used on the toast. I went from 14 grams of fat without the spread to 22 with it! The highest recommended intake of fat per meal on the plan is 19. Yeah, I went over. Yeah, I had some "treatment effects". Yeah, I won't be making that mistake again!

On the brighter side, I found a couple of really good breads that are low in Weight Watcher's Points, low fat and high fiber. They even taste good! Both are made by Arnold. The first is their Sandwich Thins. I am not someone who likes a lot of bread in my sandwich. I also tend to not like the whole grain/high fiber wraps because they tend to be chewy. The sandwich thins address both issues. They are 100 calories, 0 grams of fat and around 5 grams of fiber. They taste really good and are about as thick as a pita. The texture is very tender, and they hold up well to standard sandwich fare. Wetter condiments, like fresh salsa, soak through the bottom fairly quickly. It didn't really become soggy, but the sandwich was more difficult to hold onto. This has become my go-to bread for sandwiches!

The other product is Arnold's Whole Grain, Double Fiber bread. It also clocks in at 100 calories, with 1.5 grams of fat and 6 grams of fiber per slice. That makes it twice as expensive in Points or calorie value as the Sandwich Thins (two halves of those equal one serving). Where this shines for me is toast. The bread is very tender, almost crumbly when I added the I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spread. It has a nutty flavor, as you would expect from whole grain, but was not seedy. I don't mind bread with seeds, but for that All-American bacon and eggs breakfast, this comes close to traditional white bread as you can get without being white bread.

Give these a try and tell me what you think! Oh, and for those that didn't get the title reference, check out Clue: The Movie. It's an 80's comedy with an all-star cast and my wife's favorite movie. Well worth the air-popped popcorn with butter spray!

Join me on my journey...

Anyone you ask will tell you that weight loss is not a destination, but a journey. It's true, and this blog is a chance to lose it along with me as I travel the road to the old me. I will be combining Weight Watchers (tm) with Alli (tm). Throughout the journey, I'll post the ups and downs, recipes and reviews of products/foods that I try. For those on Weight Watchers, I can't post the Points (tm) value of recipes, but I'll try to make sure everything you need to calculate points is there.

I have tried several products and diets over the years, with varying levels of success. I've tried Spark People (www.sparkpeople.com), a free website with a lot of great features for tracking calories, fat and other nutrients. They have a very active community, and I know people who have found very good friends from spending time on Spark.

I have also tried Weight Watchers (www.weightwatchers.com) a couple of times. I have been fairly successful with them, which is why I've gone back. One of my gripes in the past was the lack of anything male-focused. This has really improved a lot, though many of the new products are still geared towards women. Their web tools does have a men's section, though, as does the community. They are not free, but the ability to go to meetings and be accountable to someone other than myself is a plus when you have the willpower of a gnat.

South Beach (www.southbeachdiet.com) is the last major program I have tried, personally. It worked for a while, but that gnat-like willpower thing got in the way. They do have a web program, but I've never tried it, personally. It does cost money, on top of buying the book. The idea of the program is to re-train yourself to eat less carbohydrates and more protein. If Atkins interests you, but it seems to extreme, hit up the local library and check out this book.

I mentioned above that I am taking Alli (www.myalli.com). It is another tool available, and one I have chosen to use. Why? Fear. Abject terror. You don't know why? Go to your local mega-mart or discount store and read the warnings on the label. Go ahead, I'll wait...yeah, if a pill manufacturer recommends carrying a change of clothes, you'd watch what goes into your mouth, too. Remember that gnat-like willpower, it's amazing what the threat of inconvenient and embarrassing side-effects can do to bolster that!

Weight loss is a personal journey, but not one that needs to be taken alone. Whether you are on one of the plans above, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, or something else, come along on my journey. Post your wins and your challenges. We'll all get there in our own time.