I found what you lost!

Yep.  You heard me.  The subject line of this post says it all.  Those pounds you guys are losing have somehow found me.  I thought I was in the former fat chick secret hiding club.  Turns out to not be a legit club after all. lol  This is a fairly recent issue.  I mean, not within a week or anything, but I was hovering around my "happy" weight not that long ago.  So I'm hoping things will turn around very, very soon.

I want to be clear because I know if I'm not...people will start leaving me comments about switching to the new plan (which I am never going to do).  This is not a matter of eating "junk food".  Honestly, I have a healthier diet than anyone I know.  Especially since going gluten free (no easy task).  I am simply eating too much.  Once I get into that mode of "too much", it's very difficult for me to back out.  Yes, even though I journal it each and every day of my life, I still fall into the trap from time to time.  If you are an emotional eater or someone with a food addiction, you know exactly what I speak of.  Those of you who do not fit into either category...I hate you good for you. 

After reading through weeks & weeks of journal pages, I figured out the problem(s):

• Loads of 40 Point days.  Sprinkled with a few 60+ Pointers.  A lot of this has to do with my half marathon training.  I'm super super super hungry the day after a long run (between 12 & 14 miles).  I've been logging 25-35 miles a week running.  That doesn't include any of my cross training, walking, elliptical, stair master, weight training, etc.  Phew. I wore myself out just listing all I do. Once it's all said and done....I'm hungry! 
• I have also been trying pretty much every gluten free product I can get my hands on.  It's like I decided to be the official taste tester of all things gluten free somewhere along the way.  Turns out, that doesn't really fit into my lifestyle.  [Imagine that.]  Knocking off the taste tester behavior alone should help me by leaps and bounds.  Most things I manage to just have one or two items (or bites).  However, I've eaten enough hummus and gluten free flax seed crackers in the past month or two to fill my lifetime quota. It adds up fast!
• Oh, and then there's the whole "I'm going to eat and drink my way through the Pacific North West".  Since moving to this area 11 months ago, we have dined at some of the most AMAZING restaurants.  I kid you not.  I wish I could invite you all over so we could hit some of my favorite places in an attempt to show you just how amazing they are.  Since I refuse to move ever again, this behavior needs to come to a halt right away.  I have the rest of my life to try every food cart in Portland, Oregon.  And of course, it is my goal to do just that....in moderation.
• I've never in my life trained this hard physically to do anything.  I have no clue how much my body actually needs, but with the help of my Fitbit, my Garmin, and my food journals, I will figure it out.  The amount I'm training is way beyond what Weight Watchers is equipt to deal with.  [I know, because I worked there as a Leader!]  Endurance athletes are a class of their own, and I somehow managed, after two years of hard work and dedication, to land myself in their world.  I am seriously thinking of seeking the advice of a sports nutritionist.

With that being said, please join me in my quest to ditch the 7 pounds that have managed to make a cozy home on my ass!  Since I was under my Weight Watchers goal weight on a regular basis, I'm currently at that point where if I gain one more ounce, I would have to pay come weigh in time.  I refuse to do so.  Plus, 7 pounds makes a huge difference for me.  I don't feel good in my own skin any longer.  I feel like someone has their hands around my throat choking me (I think it's literally fat sucking the life from my body).  I look like a sausage in my running tights.  All my shirts feel tight because one of the first places I gain weight is my boobs.  [Of course, that's always the first to go once the weight starts coming off!  Booooo, hissssss!] 

I am on a mission to find the magic number of Points to consume with all of my increased training mileage in mind.  Cutting back the miles isn't an option for me since I'm already registered to run 3 more half marathons this year alone.  Not to mention those already I've signed up for in 2012.  So I'm excited to kind of "restart" this journey in an odd way. I call it "rolling with the punches".  In a way it's good news!  It means progress has been made in my life between going gluten free [for health reasons] and entering a new stage in physical training.  So instead of whining, I'll celebrate!  They key for me has always been to keep going.  If I lose sight of the path, I do what it takes to find it again. 

"Heather Watchers" needs to officially be shut down.  It's time to get back in touch with my Weight Watchin' roots.  Here's to a fresh start!