A Year and a Half Later

Wow, I was so optimistic when I reached my weight loss goal in October of 2008! So what's happened since then? Well, I've regained 30 pounds! How could I let that happen? All I can think of is day-to-day life and letting little excuses creep in and slowly derail me. It was so subtle and slow that I didn't really think much of each little half-pound that crept back on the scale, until it became 10 pounds, then 20 pounds, and now 30 pounds! I'm pretty disappointed that I let that happen. I know exactly how it happened though and didn't really do anything to stop it, not seriously anyway.

At first I had started indulging a little here and a little there with eating my kid's waffle fries, or getting a cookie for them and me at the mall, then it became a Dairy Queen Blizzard treat (until it closed down at the mall - thank God!), oh and every Friday I get my kids milkshake after school and one for myself, or one of those yummy coffee drinks! Our family doesn't eat out a lot, but it's those fast food indulgences that have really done me in and I use my kids as an excuse to do it!

I also use my kids as an excuse to cut back on my workouts. My son said he didn't like going to the Y and waiting for me while I worked out during his summer break from school last year (even though there's a play area for kids). So I cut my workouts down to 2 days a week telling myself that I would pick back up when he went back to school in fall. The problem is, I didn't. I kept the 2 days a week, going to my step class, through the fall and into the winter. Then, in February this year, my daughter got sick and I couldn't take her into the Y for a couple weeks. That's when I stopped going altogether. Sure, I could have worked out at home, but I made excuses for that as well. Such as, I have too much to do around the house and I don't have time to workout for an hour. Well, 2 months later, I did venture back into the Y because I signed my daughter up for some refresher swim lessons. So for 2 weeks, I went everyday and worked out at least 3 of those days. But once those lessons were over, so were my regained workouts. I did workout at home a few times, but then slipped back into excuse mode of being too busy and having other important things to take care of first. Each week I would tell myself I'd get back to the workouts, but alas, here I sit today at home and not working up a sweat at the Y like I told myself I'd be doing.

This morning, I saw a piece on the Today Show about Al Roker's weight loss. He lost 115 with the help of gastric bypass, but he still had to change his lifestyle or he'd end back up in the same place. In fact, he had gained 40 pounds back when he realized that and began making those lifestyle changes. He said, "Gastric bypass will help you lose the weight, but that's all. It's up to the individual to keep that weight off by doing the same things that a person who loses weight traditionally has to do." He's absolutely right. For me, it's like once I hit my weight loss goal, I stopped doing the healthy things I was supposed to do to keep it off and slowly regressed back into my not-as-healthy ways that made me gain the weight (except for being pregnant of course). Here's what I stopped doing:

Measuring my portions
Writing down what I ate
Calculating points/calories
Planning ahead and snacking smart
Regular exercise
Going to my Weight Watcher meetings to stay motivated and get the support and encouragement I need

I just feel like it's all too much effort and I don't have the energy to keep up with it all and my kid's lives, and running every aspect of our home (cooking, cleaning, shopping, finances, homework help, family time, serving in church, hobbies, etc.). I feel like I already have too much to keep track off and don't have the time to track my food/points/calories or workout. The problem with that is it creates a new issues I have to deal with:

Stress about weight gain
Lower energy level
My clothes getting tighter and tighter and then not fitting anymore and having to buy new clothes in bigger sizes because I got rid of all my "fat" clothes
Feeling like a failure every time I see myself in the mirror which zaps my good mood

Something else that Al said that I already know is that dealing with weight issues is like being a recovering alcoholic, but harder because you can live without alcohol, but you can't live without food. So you have to find a way to live with it in a healthy way.

I also agree with what he said about one's mentality in weight loss. You have to be ready to do it yourself. It doesn't matter what anyone says to you to try and motivate you, you have to ultimately be the one who is motivated to do it. If you're not ready to do the work involved, you're not going to succeed at it. That's where I am now. I'm working on getting myself motivated again to go at it, again.

But I have learned something important from all this, and being a "goal-oriented" person, this has been a hard one for me to deal with: Reaching your weight-loss goal, while it may be an end-point, is not a finish line. It's the starting line of new and longer marathon that will last the rest of your life. If you sit down and rest too long, it's hard to get up again and you can lose your momentum, making it harder to get back on track. It can be done though. I'm going to get off this bench and starting running this race again. I can feel my motivation building.

I'm a "Lifer"!!!

Wow! It's been over a month since I've blogged! Well, I finally crossed the finished line and am tasting the sweetness of victory!!! I am now a "Lifer" as in Lifetime Member of Weight Watchers! I made it through the 6 weeks of maintenance and ended up losing another .6 pounds during it. During those 6 weeks, I was given an additional 3 points per day to "stabilize". The guideline to follow is that if I gained/lost 1 pound or more, I would need to adjust my points by 1 point less or more until I "stabilized".

I went down .2 pounds each week for the 1st 3 weeks. I got down to my lowest weight of 138 pounds! The 4th week I celebrated my wedding anniversary with my hubby and gained 1.4 pounds. Oops! But I got my butt back to the Y and worked it off. So at the 5th week, I had zero gain/zero loss. Overall, at that point I was only up .8 pounds. So during the 6th week, I just kept up my usual routine of eating and working out and at my final weigh-in, I was down 1.4 pounds exactly!!! So I was at my lowest weight to date (138 pounds) when I reached Lifetime! I can't tell you how awesome it feels!

So now that I'm "done", have I changed any of my new habits? Actually, no. I'm so used to eating the right things and working out that it's just a part of who I am now. Sure, I like to indulge once in a while, but I remember how hard I worked to get to where I am and stops me from going to far and end up on a "slippery slope" back to being overweight and uncomfortable in my body. I don't want to feel miserable again! And I'm still going to the Y to work out at least 3 times a week. I still look forward to step class! Oh, and by the way, I came in 2nd place for the Summer Slim Down contest! As I just told a friend of mine, the sweet taste of victory is far more satisfying than those "tempting foods" can ever be!

Changing my mindset

So now that I'm maintaining, I have to change my mindset about what I'm eating and how much I'm working out, and especially the scale. I'm one of those who weigh myself every morning after I get up. I even bought one of those WW scales that gives the weight in .1 increments! I still want to see those numbers going down, but know I have to keep it the same in order to complete the 6 weeks of maintenance phase. At last week's weigh-in, I had lost .2 lbs. I was happy with that because it was still a loss, but not so much that I would have to add a point (to my daily allowance). This week, I'm down a total of .4 lbs. I've even gone over my weekly points - a lot! I'm using all of my daily points too, as well as my activity points! It just figures, right? When your not trying to loss, you will. What a dilemma, right? To be honest, how can be upset about losing 1/2 lb this week? As long at it's not a full pound, my points can remain the same.

I've been working out this week as normal, except for skipping Wednesday because my schedule is too tight that day. So I'm working out 4 times a week now. I did a Spin class on Monday, Step and half a Boot Camp class on Tuesday, the same classes on Thursday, and 20 minutes on the Eliptical, plus a Body Pump class today (Friday). In maintenance, your supposed to earn at least 4 activity a day. So I'm mostly keeping up with that (I shop and run arrands on Wednesdays, so that's a lot of walking)!

My eating pattern has pretty much stayed the same as well. I still have my 2 low-fat, high fiber Eggo Waffles with a glass of Light OJ and 2 cups of coffee (with fat-free creamer). For lunch I have my favorite salad (see below), and for dinner I make a well balanced meal that is around 8 points. I snack on popcorn in the afternoon and have a WW dessert after dinner. So, since I'm keeping all of that the same, that would explain why I'm still losing weight. So today I added a couple slices of french bread to have with my salad. And I'm going to the movies tonight, so I might have a little snack there. But that my be too risky, so maybe I'll just save my points and have a yummy snack when I get home from the movie, so I can be more in control of my points!

I want to say a special thanks to my WW buddy, Cara for giving my a shout out on her blog today! Thank you again, Cara! Check out her blog if you get a chance! Also, thanks to those who checked out my blog for the first time and gave me congrats on meeting my goal! It is very much appreciated and encouraging! Now that I've meet my goal, I will continue blogging on how to maintain, so keep checking back as I figure that out myself!

Goal!!!

I did it! I reached my goal weight with WW!!! I had 1/2 lb. to lose this week in order to make my goal and I lost 8/10th lb.!!! This loss also marked another huge weight-loss milestone for me - 50 lbs. lost total! It's been 16 months since I began this journey (again) and I am so happy to finally accomplished this goal that I wasn't able to make the first time around (before I had my 2nd child). So I got my little star charm and my 50 lb. charm yesterday and added them to my keychain. Now all I have left is that little key when I make Lifetime. For the next 6 weeks I am in Maintenance phase to hold my weight with 2 pounds +/- of my goal weight. This will be a whole new way of thinking for me since I have been in weight-loss mode for pretty much the past 12 years of my life (minus the 18 months I was pregnant for). So I recalculated my points and I have an additional 3 points per day now at 25 points. I still also have my 35 weekly flex (bonus) points. I decided I still have to be making good/healthy choices like I always have and just add a little extra in. For instance, at lunch yesterday, we went to Chic-fil-a as usual and I ordered my same Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich (7 points) and split a medium fry (4 points) with my son. And for my drink, I decided to treat myself to a medium sweet tea (3 points). It's one of my favorite things to get at Chic-fil-a that I haven't allowed myself to indulge in in quite a long time! It may not seem like that big a deal, but it's just so good! I still felt like I was staying in control too by not indulging in a coffee drink at Starbucks or a sweet treat at the Dairy Queen or the cookie store.

Last night we went out for dinner too and chose Ruby Teusdays (no waiting on a Saturday night and kid-friendly). I ordered the Chicken Fresca with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, but only had half (9 points). I was "flying blind" too because they didn't have any nutritional info for it. So I decided to just eat half, and get a big salad (mostly greens and veggies with a light ranch dressing). Good decision as I later found their nutritional info online and discovered the points value of the meal.

I also got in some activity yesterday by gardening (in between rain showers) for a couple of hours (trimming hedges, pulling up plants, weeding) and earned 3 activity points.

So I think I'm doing well so far. We went to Crispers for lunch today and I had 1/2 a smoked turkey and cheddar sandwich (7 points) with a small tossed salad (5). I always use most of my 35 flex points during the weekend because we go out to eat 3 times, but during the week I eat at home for every meal so I can be in total control of my points. That's just what works around my lifestyle and why I love WW so much. You can totally tailor it to fit your own lifestyle!

So, here I go this week trying not to lose or gain any weight! I'm concerned with how my workouts will affect my weight now that I'm not trying to lose, so we'll see what happens!

My Favorite Lunch

I want to share my favorite lunch. I've been creating the most delicious, simple, low-point salad for the past 10 months that I have every (week) day for lunch. I can't believe it's been that long! But it's just sooo good. The points value of the salad before dressing is 5 points. It's just the perfect blend of cool, crunchy, sweet, and flavorful. Since I make it everyday, I also make it quick and convenient by chopping the lettuce, tomato and onion after I bring them home from the store and keeping them in the fridge ready to go. To save money, I buy a whole head of lettuce and wash and chop it myself ($1 savings). I store it in one of those "green bags" that keeps produce fresh longer. It seems to work. I also buy a block of cheese and shred it myself ($1 savings) and store it in a ziploc bag. So here's all the ingredients:

2 cups Lettuce (green leaf, romaine, whatever)
1/4 cup diced tomatos
1/4 cup diced onions (red, vidalia)
2-1/2 oz. diced chicken (I use Tyson or Perdue precooked chicken slices)
1 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 TBSP pre-sliced almonds
2 TBSP Craisins
2 TBSP Dressing: I like Ken's Steakhouse Lite Bluecheese (2 points) or Wishbone Bountiful's Tuscan Romano Basil (1 point).

Consistency IS the key!

So I ran some numbers when I got home from my weigh-in this morning, but first let me tell you what my loss was. I wasn't expecting a whole lot since I couldn't work out all week, but I did keep track of my points very closely and the result was a .6 pound loss! I'm only .4 lb. away from my goal weight! Yeah! My usual leader wasn't there today, (Charlotte was subbing - I love ya Charlotte!) so in a way I was okay with not making my goal because I want him there to share in the joy since he's seen me through this whole journey.

So, back to the numbers. I found some very interesting things about my weight-loss. I've been at this a total of 71 weeks now (about 1-1/2 years), and my average weekly loss has been .7 lb. So what does that mean, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. I also ran numbers just since the beginning of this year because I had set a goal in January of losing 1 pound a week (on average). I wanted to see where I was on that. So we are in week 35 of this year and I have lost 24.8 pounds this year alone. So I didn't meet my 1 pound a week average, but in figuring out what I did average, I found it was .7 pounds! The same as it's been for the entire length of my doing WW! Also, the first week of the year was at the halfway point thus far (36 weeks). So at that point I had a total loss of 24.8 pounds (May thru December). And if I look at the last 35 weeks (January thru August), I've also lost 24.8 pounds! Crazy! It's been so consistent! That just shows me that it pays to keep on going even when you feel like your not making any progress. I have lost .7 pounds a week on average consistently! I also looked back at my weigh-ins for the past few months and found a rough pattern every 4 weeks with losses of 1.6 lbs.. 1.2 lbs., .6 lbs., 0 lbs. (not always those exact numbers, but pretty close to that pattern). So that shows me that my body has a pattern of weight loss. I will have 2 weeks of big losses, then I will start to slow down, then it will pick back up again. The key is to hang in there and keep doing what you know is right during those low points. Don't be discouraged when your weight-loss slows down, it's just your body trying to balance itself out. It was so encouraging to see this.

So, hopefully, next week I'll be celebrating reaching my goal weight! Oh yeah, and I'm officially under 140 lbs. at WW now!

1 Pound to Goal!

I officially lost 1.2 pounds at my WI on Saturday. Not as much as I thought I had according to my home scale (still under 140 there), but still a good loss! I think my home scale wasn't correct because my baby girl had been sitting and stomping on it recently. I'll have to recalibrate it somehow. At WW I am at exactly 140 pounds! That's 49 pounds lost! I decided I want my Lifetime goal to be 139 pounds because that is an even 50 pounds lost, and it's under 140 which is where I want to be. I can always loss more weight later if I want to, but I never want to go over 140 again!

I haven't been able to workout all week because of the weather and other things going on, so I'm not sure if I'll reach my goal at this weekend's WI. I've been watching my points closely all week, but have also had to hurdle a couple of birthday parties with awesome cakes! I really miss my step class though! I can't wait to get back to a normal schedule next week!