weighing in.

Today, in my Weight Watchers world, is weigh-in day. And more importantly, it's the start of a new week - a fresh set of points to track, and a blank slate to mentally refresh from the past week's successes and slip-ups. Despite my poor history of tracking points, this is the one thing I do really love about Weight Watchers. It's like a weekly chance to start over - no judgment or baggage follows you into your new week. It's a brand new 7 days, and it's waiting for you to mold it into whatever you want. Weekly weigh-ins and seeing that fresh start? It's half the reason I've stuck around this program for so long.

That being said, I've learned that I have the best chance at success when I really sit down and evaluate the last week's eating choices before diving head first into that shiny new set of points. It's tempting to want to box up a bad week, and put it in the back of your mind where you store things like cleaning your baseboards and your credit card debt - things you know you need to evaluate, but don't want to deal with. But fessing up to yourself is the hardest, and most important, part of your journey towards being healthy. The food still goes into your body, regardless of whether you mentally acknowledge it - and the calories remain in there even though your mind knows you had a busy schedule and couldn't squeeze in those workouts.

So today, and probably on future Thursdays, I'm going to weigh in on my weigh-in. I lost .1 today. Point. One. I am less than 1 pound from being in a new "decade" - a decade that I've subconsciously deemed my "goal decade," and for the love of God, I just can't break through it. I've maintained, despite bachelorette parties and other indulgences, for over a month - that tells me that once I hit goal, I'll be the poster child for maintenance, but it doesn't do me a lot of good in the meantime. I shouldn't be surprised, because let's look at this past week:

• I only got in four days of activity, plus one 3 mile walk on my rest day. I know I shouldn't be complaining about that, but my body needs more. I logged 16 miles running, 3 miles walking and 1 bootcamp workout, but only got exercise in on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I need to work on spreading out my runs so I don't get the inevitable runner's burnout midweek. 

• This week's indulgences? Orange Leaf, Dairy Queen, a piece of chocolate silk pie, Chipotle, BBQ kettle chips at German Fest, a Subway breakfast sandwich and a delicious serving of sundried tomato tortellini salad with lunch yesterday. All that - and I still maintained. I guess I should be celebrating, because that has to be some kind of miracle.

• I've been a bad snacker lately. I've been hungrier than normal - probably because of the mileage I'm putting in, but I haven't been prepared with the right kind of snacks. I've munched on peanut butter and saltine crackers instead of almonds, string cheese and fruit. Prepare for hunger, Lauren. In the words of Scar, Mufasa's horrible brother, "Be prepaaaarreeeddd!" (extra points to you if were singing that in your head)

• I make a lot of excuses for myself. It's been a mentally tiring few weeks. They say that when it rains, it pours. Between wedding planning, unexpected and expensive home repairs, and feeling out of control of life's unexpected twists, I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat my feelings a little. I need to start asking myself again, like I was a few months ago, if each choice I make is bettering my life or hindering it - when I actively engage in my choices, I usually make better ones. 

• I didn't track. Once again, after an over-indulgent weekend, I decided it would be too much of a hassle to track so I decided to forego it completely and decided to just eat "mindfully" for the remainder of the week. This is a shitty sort of logic, incase you were wondering. 

Reading, and forcing myself to see the ways I can improve, helps me solidify goals for this upcoming week. Here are a few I'm gong to focus on - and keep in mind that my goals may be simple and obvious, but small changes often lead to big results.

• Track. Everything. No excuses. Starting today.
• Vary my runs. Focus on two short runs (3-4 miles) and one long run this upcoming week. My workouts tend to run Sunday - Saturday, while my WW week runs Thursday - Thursday, but I am planning a 9 mile run within the next week or so. 
• Go back to Zumba. Running, as of right now, is my only cardio and thus becomes a source of burnout for me. Switching it up with Zumba, a good hour of cardio that I love, will help me vary my workouts and look forward to my runs.
• Don't binge eat this weekend. Weekends, like most of us, are my downfall. I'm planning NOW, so I can stay on track and stay focused. 
• Get good walks in on my rest days. Walking the dogs, even if it's just a couple miles, gets me moving and helps me make better choices the rest of the day. 

There you have it, folks. Here's to a new week, and hopefully a better loss next week. I'm so close to that new decade I can taste it (it tastes like cheesecake). Hopefully being honest about it here, in public, will help me stay accountable through the upcoming week. Happy [almost] Friday!

What are you going to do to stay on track this upcoming week? How will you battle the inevitable temptations of the weekend?