Oh, the horror...

So I had my first WI of the new year last night and it was horrific. I keep chanting to myself that it's just a number, but it's not working. It's a horrible number, horrible. I have gained 26 lbs. since May 2007. What the f*ck was I thinking and doing? Apparently, I wasn't thinking and only mindlessly eating for the past year and a half. Boo on me. I must get back on track this year.

On a different but related note, I have a food review. I have recently discovered Jimmy Dean D-Lights. I think they've been around for a while, but this is the first time I've had them. So far I've only tried the turkey sausage, egg white and cheese on a whole grain muffin option. It was very tasty and filling for breakfast and only 5 points. It definitely hit the spot, especially since I have been craving a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit from McDonalds. My only criticism is that they are expensive. I paid $6.29 (or maybe $6.99) for a box of 4 at Giant Eagle and that is an "extended reduced price." The normal price is $7.99, which definitely more than I want to pay. I love the convenience though. I'm too lazy to make my own version for breakfast in the morning. I'm going to have to work on how I can make my own convenient version of the sandwich. A version where I don't have to cook the sausage or egg, only reheat it.

Now on to my diatribe about The Biggest Loser. I don't think I like the new format - splitting up the teams and sending home half of the contestants after the first week. I'm glad that they have a chance to come back in 30 days. I'm also upset that Jerry got sent home this week. I liked Jerry. On the other hand, I do not like Joella and I wanted her to go home. She comes off as lazy and doesn't have the heart to be there or so it seems thus far. I love that Bob blew up at her during the last chance workout. I predict that Joella is going to be this season's Vicky (or Heba) and everyone is going to hate her. Hopefully, unlike Vicky, she won't last until the end of this season.

New Year. New Resolutions.

For the third year in a row, I’m kicking off my first post of the year with my New Year resolutions. Here’s a recap of last year’s resolutions:

2008 Resolutions

1. Reaffirm my commitment to lose weight and continue losing weight. Status: ABYSMAL. Code for Not Completed. For the second year in a row, I entered a year heavier than I began it. Unacceptable. But I’m going to move on. In the words of my first WW leader, it’s time to “turn over a new leaf.” (There’s an accompanying hand gesture, by the way. Ask me to show it to you.)

2. Train for and complete 2 half marathons. Status: Replaced with train for and complete 2 races this year. Completed. I did the Dub Crawl 4 Miler in August and the New Albany Walking Classic 10K in Sept. I didn’t really train for the races, so maybe this one is half completed.

3. Get out of debt. Status: Still on track. I don’t have exact numbers, but I’ve decreased my consumer debt by about 35%. This doesn’t include my education loans. I’ve decreased my private education loans by about 15%. (I’m not going to bother calculating my federal loans. I’ve probably only paid off about $5 of the principal. Yay, for consolidating at a low rate.) Overall, I’m pretty proud of myself.

4. Move out of my brother's house. Status: Completed. I moved in with my parents, two younger siblings and their two dogs. How lame am I? At least I got custody of Nanook.

And here are this year's resolutions:

2009 Resolutions

1. Get Employed. That’s right, folks. Once again, I am unemployed. I got laid off in October due to lack of work (official party line). The actual reason is that my boss didn’t like to deal with the business end of the law firm and got in a little over her head. I was the casualty. I wonder if God is trying to tell me that I shouldn’t be a lawyer. Is it really supposed to be this difficult to find a permanent job?

2. Train for and complete 5 races. Five is an arbitrary number. It was the first number to pop into my head. One of my races will be the Capital City Half Marathon on May 2 in Columbus. I’ve already started training and I’m hoping that others will do the race with me…please! As for the other races, we’ll see. I’m not going to focus on the distance of the races, just the number. I’m hoping it will keep me motivated throughout the year.

3. Get out of debt. I want to stay on track with retiring my debt, so I’m making it a resolution. It worked in 2008. I do want to note that I have completely moved to a cash-based system. It was harsh and painful, but I didn’t add to my debt in 2008, so it was worth it.

4. Reaffirm my commitment to lose weight and start losing weight. Another year with the same resolution. *Sigh* I need to lose 75 lbs. to hit my goal. That’s approximately 1.5 lbs. per week. Completely realistic. I need to dig deep for the motivation this year. Wish me luck. Next year, I want to be like Valerie Bertinelli in the Jenny Craig commercial and tearfully announce on my blog that I don’t have to worry about my weight in 2010.

5. Blog more religiously. I was horrible about blogging this year. I feel like every other post began with “after a 3 mos. hiatus, I’m back and I promise to blog every week.” I’m going to aim for at least 2-3 times per month. I feel like that isn’t unreasonable. I’m very impressed by the bloggers who are able to post multiple times per week.

Okay, 5 resolutions is plenty, especially when they are virtually the same as last year. I’ll keep everyone posted on the status of my resolutions throughout the year. I’m sure you're on the edge of your seat.