Recap of the last 3 weeks - Sarah

So Emily and I actually came up with this Weight Loss/BSB blog about 3 weeks ago...but we're just now getting around to starting it for real. So I figure I should give you my recap over the last 3 weeks so that everyone's up to speed.

Initial weigh in was so uncomfortable. The last time that I was in this position was 2008 and I weighed in at 164 ::shudder:: On a day to day basis, when I look at myself in the mirror, I don't really see myself as super overweight. But then I see pictures of myself and I'm astonished. It's the same way for Emily. We both know we have "problem areas" or whatever, but since we haven't visited the scale we don't really think about it. Then someone posts a picture on facebook and it's like whoooaaa there! When did I grow 3 chins? Why does my arm look as large as my thigh? Is my face really that fat? And then we go eat an entire bag of cheese puffs to wallow in our depression.

But, as is typical of most people, when January 1 rolled around we both had the idea to get off our fat asses and do something about these horrid facebook pictures that keep creeping up in our nightmares. We decided to face the scale.

Emily and I are no stranger to the Weight Watchers scale. We've both been down this road before and it's just as painful to step on the scale now as it was back then. But we also know that half the battle of weight loss is mental. You kind of have to kick yourself in the ass in order to do something about the state you're currently in. So if you know you have to face the scale every week, you'll remember to eat better throughout the week and reach for a "power food" instead of the Snickers bar. No one wants to be the fat kid at the WW meeting who gained weight. And if you ever are - even just one time, you remember that feeling and think before you eat.

So we both have faced the scale the first week of January. And we both were less than pleased with the results we got. I weighed in at 155.6 lbs. Not as bad as my initial weigh in back in '08 but still not pleasant. 155.6 lbs is plenty to motivate me, especially when I have a mother who's never weighed over 125 in her life and is at least an inch taller than me. But we'll deal with the mommy issues later.

So week 1, I felt really good about myself. I stocked up on produce and SmartOnes frozen meals, some turkey spaghetti, low fat chicken breasts, whole wheat bread - I was set. But oops! One thing I forgot, I had a wedding to go to that weekend! Weddings are THE WORST when trying to eat on plan. There's cake and there's baby quiches and there's butter soaked everything! But all things considered I did pretty well! I pretty much camped out by the fruit table and had shrimp cocktail as the majority of my meal. Stayed away from the 100% sugar punch and kept my drinking to vodka and diet coke.

By the time Monday (my weigh in day) rolled around, a giant snow storm had hit and I was confined to my apartment for 4 days. Despite my desire to eat everything in the apartment for fear of starvation, I actually surprised myself by the time the following Monday rolled around. I had lost 5.6 lbs in 2 weeks! Definitely unexpected since I didn't really track my points and drank like a fish thanks to the Falcon's loss on Saturday night. But I prevailed, nonetheless!

This past Monday, however, I was not so lucky. I definitely slipped up a few times last week and went out to eat when I shouldn't have. And I did go over my points almost every day. But the good thing is, I didn't gain. I simply maintained. So my current weight is 150.0 lbs. A number I still cringe at, but I simply have to look forward to next week's weigh in and what I'm going to do to make that number go down.

So, there's my 3 week update!

Today is Emily's weigh in day so look for her update soon!

Intro

Welcome to Larger than Life! Sarah and Emily's complete guide to weight loss in 2011. Or perhaps "guide" isn't the right word. No, I'd say it's more like our feeble attempt at losing weight during the first 6 months of 2011. And here we are at the end of January already so make that 5 months.


First, a little background: Emily and I have been best friends for 23 years. Yep, count 'em, 23. We had the benefit of not sharing the same middle school and high school experience, as we attended different schools. I say "benefit" because those teen angst years can be so trying on a close friendship. Cliques are formed and hearts are broken - but since Emily and I didn't share the same school, we didn't really have that potential problem of one becoming more popular and leaving the other in the dust (as is so often the case). No, we were able to maintain a strong friendship that tested the weight of the teen angst years. In fact, we created our own little "clique" through the church youth group that we both attended. But more on that later. When we "grew up" we went to different colleges but the friendship bond remained strong. After graduation, we both found ourselves back in Atlanta. And while we have pursued different things, a few things remain steadfast in our friendship:

• Home Alone is our go-to Christmas movie every year
• Whenever we talk it's like not a day has passed
• The Backstreet Boys are the #1 loves of our lives

Which brings us back around to why we're starting a blog. Emily and I found ourselves battling our new years resolutions earlier this month and as we got to talking, we both had this great idea that we should totally start a weight-loss blog centered around the Backstreet Boys. Why the Backstreet Boys, you ask? Well aside from the fact that we've seen them at least 10 different times in concert since 1997, it's primarily because we're both attending the NKOTBSB concert this summer (Emily's in San Fran, I'm in Atlanta). And how freakin cool would it be to be as skinny as we were the first time we went to their concert back in 1997??? I know, SUPER cool, right?


Ok, maybe not everyone will be able to wrap their heads around this idea. Some of you are like "so over" the Backstreet Boys. Some of you were never into pop music in the first place (and for that I pity you). Some of you are closet NSync fans. Some of you are outspoken NSync fans. Some of you are hung up on 5ive or BB Mak. But some of you are totally with me, aren't you? Admit it, you'd be just as stoked as I currently am if you were lucky enough to snag tickets to the shows in June and July.


Well, we're doing it. We're both signed up for Weight Watchers (going 3 weeks strong now) and we're both going to concerts in June/July. So here will be our forum for how amazing/awful we are at losing weight. Some things you can expect out of this blog:

• Depressing Motivation(s) of the week
• Where are they now? A throw-back to the great Pop Sensations of the late 90s and early 2000s
• Photos of our favorite pop stars when they were on the cover of Teen Beat and Seventeen Magazine
• Low points and high points of the week (both weight related and BSB related)
• And lots more!

So if you're a fan of losing weight or a fan of BSB, follow our blog! We'll make it worth your while. And feel free to leave comments.


~Sarah