As of 10/22/06, I will have been a Weight Watcher for one entire year. And I owe all of that to YOU guys. This is the LONGEST I have ever stayed on the Weight Watchers program and it is the most weight I have lost ever. It's been a hard year in some respects, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Just like I wouldn't trade my buddies for the world. I am healthier, happier, fitter, and I'd like to think way sexier than I was one year ago. I've made some great changes, learned what the word willpower means, and realized once and for all who I am doing this for and why. Over the year I've managed to:
Lose 46.2 lbs (from 269.2 to 223)
Achieve a 34% body fat percentage (I started around 40% last year)
Go from a size 24W(tight) to a size 20 regular(very comfy)
Reduce my blood pressure to 118/80 from 140/90
Reduce my BMI from 39.7(severely obsese) to 32.9 (obese)
I have lots of goals for the next year, including really working on that body fat percentage and entering a few 5K races. But most importantly, my goal is to stay healthy, happy and keep trucking along. I just gotta say that when I started, I had the WORST eating habits known to man. Fast food, junk food, candy, whatever it was, I was eating it, and eating it all the time and bingeing on it. I never realized when I was hungry, because I was eating all of the time. I now know what the hunger feeling actually feels like, because I have not been over eating.
Anyway, I just really wanted to say thanks buddies! I appreciate each and every one of you all more than you could ever really know. I don't know where I would be if I never found BCB, but I can honestly say that it would probably not be in the good shape I'm in now.
Okay, so October is about 1/2 over. How am I doing?
bought some pants in a size i've never fit in
have lost 3.4 lbs since sept. 30th
done 320 minutes of exercise (goal for month is 620)
been op every day
I'd say that's a successful month so far! I'm really proud of myself for staying on track. It's been much easier than I thought, mainly because I gave myself good non-weight related goals (being OP every day and exercising). By achieving those goals and not focusing on the scale, the weight is taking care of itself. I'm changing my HABITS girls...Making exercise a commitment and making the program the way I eat. Those steps are the ones that will continue to keep me losing. I guess I really just needed to step back and re-evaluate my habits. Time to keep it moving and see how I do the last few weeks of October.
hmm..according to my scale, i'm up like 4 lbs from my saturday wi. now i believe some of this is due to my hair, but what can you do about that. for those who don't know, i just had braids (extension) but in my hair - about 5 packs of braids actually. but i in no way think it's 4 lbs worth. 2.5-3 max. not 4. maybe suz is right, and i need to go see a nutritionist. i've been doing ww for a year, and for the last 6 months, i've been hovering around the same weight. although, i honestly don't know what a nutritionist would tell me that i don't already know. i have been to see them before, pre-ww. and they basically told me to follow the food pyramid. i just don't know what to do anymore. i've been up and down so much and it's frustrating. i want so badly for this to work, and the weight to come off, but i don't know if that's enough anymore. i've lost weight on ww before, ironically enough, about 45 lbs the first time i ever did it. unfortunately, this time, i was about 39 lbs heavier, so those 45 lbs don't bring me to a happy weight anymore. i mean i understand people that are close to a healthy weight having months of struggle. but i'm still obese according to the world. and i still am a plus sized woman. it's ridiculous. i know i don't want to quit and gain back....but i can't keep going on like this for too much longer.
I did it! Yesterday I was 100% OP! I did everything I need to do to lose weight. It's a reaffirmation that I can do this. Now I know everyday won't be 100% because in my spreadsheet, I have to exercise to be 100% OP for the day. And that's not going to happen every day. But the more 100% or 90% OP days I have, then that means I'm closer and closer to making this something I am sticking with. I really need to get off the 6 lbs that I managed to put on in 2 weeks and this will help. More importantly, I want to reach my Christmas Challenge Goal of 198. It would be so awesome to go home for Christmas and be under 200 lbs for the first time since Christmas 2000. That is 6 years people. And I know I can do it.
This weekend will be a challenge. I have 3 glorious days off and nothing planned to do in them. So in order to stay out of the kitchen and on the right path, I have the following things that I can do:
Get my laptop fixed
Schedule a hair appointment
Go to the old gym for one last time then cancel the membership (I have access to an even better gym for free now)
Return library books and check out new ones
Cook my meals for next week, portion and freeze them
Go for walks in the neighborhood and check out the tennis courts at my apt.
I can do this! Having a great weekend will mean that maybe when I WI next week, I can be back to where I started.
i'm being creative. more like less scared. why? i've been trying new foods lately.
unstuffed peppers
summer museli
fat free plain yogurt
glop
i'm kind of proud of that list since all of them are pretty healthy foods . i needed to start trying new things since i think that was one of the reaons i've been stuck in a rut. eating the same sandwiches and dinners and cereal and oatmeal every day doesn't cut it. but by experiementing, it makes me willing to experiment more. so i have LOTS of recipies to try in the near future.
tonight is a workout night. i think i might to biggest loser or biggest winner. those are good ones considering it's biggest loser night on tv. i had a few gains the last few weeks, but i know that they will get under control this week. i was just on ww. i was counting points, but not really being healthy. but now, i'm trying to focus more on finding foods that fill me up and satisfy me. but there is one big HUGE secret for me staying on plan 100%....planning ahead.
days where i plan ahead, i have absolutely no problem staying with the program. i often find that i have some points i can't initially figure out how to use. and i hit way more of the healthy 8s when i plan ahead. i get in 4-5 servings of fruits/veggies and olive oils and everything else. all in all, it's a way better day for me.
anyway, my next hurdle is to try to eat celery. i bought some the other day from the store and am trying to figure out how to eat it and like it. i tried it with laughing cow, but i needed a LOT of laughing cow on each bite to make it palitable. but it tasted better than the last time i tried celery. what do you guys eat celery with??
I always complain about the Biggest Loser because it's unrealistic. To live in a place absent of temptation and where you only focus on your body is a dream - but one that most of us can't accomplish. Honestly, we just don't have the 3 or 4 hours a day to put into just exercising like they do. Well maybe some people do, but after a long day of work that means I get up at 5:30AM, I don't have the energy to get up earlier to put the time in or stay up late enough to do that. But that doesn't mean I can't put *some* time in. Everytime the season starts it does remind me that it's up to ME to determine what I do and don't have time for. No, I can't do 3 hours a day, but there is no reason that I can't do something on most days. My slow pace for a mile is 15 mintues/mile. At that pace, I can easily spare a half hour to do a half mile jog. OnDemand has lots of short quick workouts that are 15 minutes or less - no reason I can't fit one of those in, right? And I own workouts like the Biggest Loser, Biggest Winner, and Pilates that are only 20-25 minutes long. All in all, there is no reason I can't take 30 minutes out of my day to exercise.
So why is it so hard to make it happen? Why do I come up with excuse after excuse for why I can't do it? On paper, it's perfect.
I think the reason is that I just don't WANT to do it some days. I really want the calorie burn and the sweat of exercise...but I want it while I curl up on my couch watching the America's Next Top Model rerun eating low fat ice cream.
So with that said, I'm going to join the ranks of the biggest losers this season. I'm going to vow that I will get in 210 minutes, or 3.5 hours of exercise a week in. That's only 1/2 hour a day. No reason I can't fit that into the schedule. It's only a matter of mind over matter and I can do it. The reasons to fit it in are so much better than what happens if I don't. I'll never be able to be a Top Model if I don't act like one, right? Ha haha
i'm very excited this week. i went grocery shopping and had a very different experience than i usually do - i had no desire at all to get junk food. i stuck to my list 100%. now i guess this is what most people do when grocery shopping, but usually when i go, i have to resist the bakery and ice cream aisle and cakes. it's a concious decision to not get it. today, i just didn't even want them. i guess i've mentally started to really make this a lifestyle. i'm pretty happy. it's nice to know that i can really resist the call of junk.
in other news - there is a great dateline on tonight. it's about fast food and the options out there and about how they are and are not making things healthy. it's interesting seeing mcdonalds execs defending mcdonalds. i think the dateline was very informative and pretty good at getting all the sides. i mean even the mcdonald execs said - you gotta do it in moderation. which is what we are learning on weight watchers. i'll be the first to tell you that there is no way i'm going to give up fast food 100%. i did have to make some changes, like limit the amount i eat and change what i order. i used to eat fast food probably about 8 times a week, minimum. sometimes subway was included, so that was i guess the ONE healthy thing. but now, i eat it maybe 2-3 times a month and i get kids meals a lot of the time, or grilled chicken or salads. so i mean it's definately possible to include fast food in a healthy lifestyle, but only if you want to.
wi is tomorrow morning. i don't think i lost that much, if anything this week. i didn't work out that much because i was really tired this week. it's no excuse, but it's what happened. i am going to really push myself to get back to a good groove next week. my workout clothes are already in the car :)
I love the weekends, but I tell you one thing - I'm so tired! I spent yet another weekend at my boyfriend's house. But you know what, he is an excellent cook! All we eat are meat and veggie meals. Which is excellent b/c point wise, it's not too hard to calculate. The problem is portion size. He usually doesn't even buy rice or noodles or anything else. So dinner is like baked pork chops and 1/2 a can of green beans. So I'm still hungry afterwards. He's trying to lose weight too, so everything he has is reduced fat/calorie, but point wise, that doesn't mean too much (you other weight watchers know what I'm talking about. We know that 100 cals is still gonna be about 2 pts) But I don't want that, I still am hungry for dinner, so it's second's time. Sometimes I buy food to have additionally, but not always.
So I need a new plan of attack for the bf's house. This is it:
1. Buy lettuce and salad dressing to keep at his house. That way, I can boil an egg, and have a full salad (he has ff cheese) with dinner. 2. Keep brown rice at his house so I can make it as a side dish. 3. Offer to cook more!
I gotta get with the program. Since we live so close, I'll be spending a lot more weekends at his place. This new plan should work. I already exercise when I want (I have a few of my exercise DVDs at his house).
Okay so we've all been there. You step on the scale and for some reason, you're up 6 lbs.
Well that's me. After reaching a low weight...I went to a sorority retreat. Let me say, my sorority is full of REAL women okay. Food is a big part of all of our events and I'm not the only soror on WW (and i'm so proud of the 4 already who have made goal!). Anyway, I used all of my daily and flex points this weekend and came back 10 lbs heavier than my Friday morning wi.
So of course...I'm like what the hell?!?! I figured I'd be up because I ate all of my flex, but still.
It's going away ( i had to check again...10 lbs was a lot, lol) but slowly. But I know that as the week goes on and I eat my normal amounts of food, I'll drop back down to my normal weight.
But, I guess I"m bummed the following the program, it went up so much. I had finally reached a new level of weight loss...and it seems to have been blown.
But not completely...I'll be back down to my normal weight. Just give me a wi :)
okay it's no secret that the last two years of my life have not been the happiest. living in a place i hated, isolated from my friends, family, and boyfriend...not my idea of a fun time. but i pushed on, made things happen. and i joined weight watchers last october, and i lost - 42 lbs. i was happy with that...with that one thing that was going "right" even with the fact that most other things didn't make me happy.
then i hit a brick wall. i mean literally after that loss, from march through 2 weeks ago, my weight was 227. that's it. it might have gone up a little or down a little, but it always came back to 227. i couldn't understand it. couldn't figure out why i was struggling so much when i was exercising and eating basically the same as before. different foods, but yet the same trends of the healthy 8's.
last week was the first wi where i dipped below the 227 weight to 226. a cursory check of my weight this morning showed that i was down from that. and i didn't understand. why all of a sudden was the scale moving...and REALLY moving. i haven't changed my eating or exercising habits...still doing 3-4 days a week.
but wait, what ELSE changed?
me and my boyfriend have gotten on much better terms from a little tiff in march.
i got a new job that i love.
with that new job, i moved away from the isolation into a place where i'm happy and close to my friends and boyfriend.
all in all...my general disposition is just happier. and with that, the scale has moved. every wi since i've moved has been a loss. coincidence...i don't think so.
maybe my body was holding on to that weight because i just wasn't "happy" enough to lose it. i was sad and unhappy and that just made me unsuccessful. my saddest month of the last two years was march 2006 - and i find it interesting to see that march was teh start of my plateau month.
maybe the body really can see that you are happy or sad. you can't fake it - although i've been trying. that whole fake it til you make it thing. i've been faking happiness hoping that it will find me while i tried to actually make it happen.
so now that i'm happy again, my body is losing and that makes me even happier. strange how that works. but maybe that just means that the journey towards weight loss is really a total experience - mind, body, and soul.
. i needed to start trying new things since i think that was one of the reaons i've been stuck in a rut. eating the same sandwiches and dinners and cereal and oatmeal every day doesn't cut it. but by experiementing, it makes me willing to experiment more. so i have LOTS of recipies to try in the near future.