Weight Watchers Progress -- Month Two

Added on by C. Maoxian.

(Please first read my Weight Watchers Progress -- Month One post for background, how I did not actually *join* Weight Watchers, and my original tips for success.)

First Things First

I weighed in at the end of December 2016 at 206.5 pounds and weighed in at the end of January 2017 at 198 pounds for a loss of 8.5 pounds on the month. Oddly I was disappointed by this excellent result. I did have quite a few days in the month where I "blew out" the point range, consuming two or even three times the recommended amount, but I quickly got back on the bandwagon after those special occasions.

It makes sense that the rate of weight loss would begin to decline, but I was "anchored" on the ten pounds a month idea, which is a little crazy. To have lost ~20 pounds in two months is great and I'm feeling good.

New Daily Point Range

As I explained in my month one post, I could only consume 26.5 points of food a day while in the 200 to 224 pound range. Once you go under 200 pounds and enter the 175 to 199 pound range, you have to reduce your food allowance to 24.5 points. I am unwilling to do this. Also, I would like to reintroduce beer into my diet (one bottle is 3 points and I limit it to one bottle a day). So, I'm not expecting to lose any weight in month three, or maybe a little bit... stablizing around the 195 pound mark would be nice.

Exercise

I still row religiously (Concept2), 30 minutes a day as I've done for 20 years, through fit and fat, and it doesn't make a huge difference when it comes to weight loss, I don't think. Of course it's better to do it than not do it, but you could take a 30 minute walk or do some similarly modest exercise and get the same benefit no doubt.

Cheating Your Sweet Tooth

One of my key tips for success from month one was sucking on Ricola Honey Herb drops whenever you have a hankering for sweets, which for me is about once an hour. Nobody has a sweeter sweet tooth than me, but these little drops sate me when I'm jonesing for sugar.

Honig-Krauter, baby.

Honig-Krauter, baby.

Cheating Your Salty/Savory Tooth

My new key tip for success from month two is Seaweed Snacks. Just as I have a hankering for sugar every hour, I also have a hankering for salt every hour, and the way to deal with it is to eat a package of roasted, salted seaweed. My kids grew up in China, so they naturally like this snack, but it's a foreign taste for a redneck like me who grew up in Appalachia, an acquired taste. I've learned to like it though.

Two problems with these snacks: the packaging is very wasteful (bad for Mother (Earth)), and they're expensive ... maybe 40 to 90 cents a package, I don't know the exact number. But it's worth it if it's keeping you from snacking on other stuff and getting fat. Wegmans has a family pack for $6, but I can find less expensive, better quality ones in my local Chinese grocery. (I'll post a picture of that brand once I buy another bag.)

12 pack is $6

12 pack is $6

Going Forward

I will write a post at the end of month three, but don't expect any additional progress, just stabilization. I can say unequivocally that the Weight Watchers program is a good one ... a smart, safe, sensible and effective method for weight loss. Go to eBay and buy a PointsFinder card and you'll be on your way!

Long Set-up in Boeing

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I was away from my desk today but the cracked laptop was still running so I can see what happened when I get back to it ... Boeing came on the radar at midday, which means it gets put on the Idiot Wave watch list and a good one appeared at 14:00 sharp ... turned out to be about a 5x winner (or more if carried into the close).

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Short Set-up in Nvidia

Added on by C. Maoxian.

NVDA has been unusually active since reporting earnings late last week, so it should be on your radar for idiot wave setups ... and fortunately around 11:30 AM today it gave a decent risk/reward spot to get short with a $107.75 first target. It's hard to keep an eye on things if you're working off of one cracked laptop monitor, so you might want to crack open your wallet and get several big screens (they're so cheap now, it's crazy).

Once again it didn't get down to the target by the end of the day, but still, covering at the close was nothing to cry about. 

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Long Set-up in Activision Blizzard

Added on by C. Maoxian.

ATVI was one of the most active things I was watching on Friday morning ... it gapped up big after-hours on Thursday following an earnings report ... unusually active means it gets on my radar looking for idiot wave set-ups, as I've explained in a previous post.

I was visiting a new local casino when it set-up during the lunch hour, so I didn't see it in real time, but it's pretty enough to post here after-the-fact. It didn't hit the target during the day on Friday, but it would have been a fine play to close at end of day and something to keep in mind as we go into next Monday.

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Long Set-up in Hassenfeld Brothers

Added on by C. Maoxian.

HAS first lit up the scanner as it 1) gapped up pre-open (on earnings), 2) made a new yearly high at the open, and 3) became unusually active at the open, then at 9:34 AM, and finally at 10:55 AM.  This means I put it on my "idiot wave" watch list, and open the 1-minute, 3-minute, 5-minute, and 15-minute charts on one screen to look for low risk set-ups. 

The unusual activity into 10:55 AM was actually a dip which formed a zig zag on the 3-minute which was playable. A masterful (i.e., lucky) entry could have been $93.75 off of the 1-minute chart, but more realistically entry off of the 3-minute would have been $94.14 with the same stop (below $93.30). Target was $96 and high change so the initial risk/reward was acceptable (not great, just ok, gets the green light).

Now this trade didn't work in the end, it was a scratch, no harm, no foul ... but the important thing is the thinking was good, and from the masterful entry you could take something off and carry the rest into the close with a breakeven stop, something like that. I've been out of the game for long enough to be rusty, but I'm just sharing my thoughts, and am happy to hear yours. 

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