Weight Watcher’s Life

I stepped on the scale this morning. I was disappointed to see that I haven’t lost anything this week I’m still lighter than when I started this process. And I’m still not adding in workouts, so I can’t beat myself up too much. I was just really hoping that the melting away of the pudge would last a little longer.

I’ve exclaimed that Weight Watchers was the friend who came along and lifted the burden of worrying about my weight. I’ve also told you how successful it’s been for me, losing 8 pounds in the first two weeeks. I thought it might be good to tell you why.

Weight Watchers works for me right now because I’ve found the beauty in SmartPop microwave popcorn with spray butter! It’s ZERO points and heps out when I’m doing emotional stress eating, or just want a little snack. I realize that part of the WW program is to avoid emotional eating and such, and I will get to that, but right now I’m just trying to lose a little while I finish up coaching.

Another trick of the trade for me is that I take Smart Ones frozen entrees or Lean Cuisine to work. I’m also a big fan of soup! Lots of yummy soups are only 4 points for the WHOLE can! 2 points per serving. Using the frozen foods right now, while my life seems to be flying by with 12 day after 12 hour day, allows me to keep in points limits and to stay satisfied so I’m not hungry and tempted to snack on the munchies in the teacher’s lounge. I’m a big fan of 100 calories chips and snacks, too. Helps with cravings.

I’m going to work in the healthier stuff after I’m done coaching at the end of the month. I’ll have time to take loads of fruits and veggies to work with me. I’ll have more time in the afternoon to prepare recipes for dinner and lunches the following days. AND I’ll have time to add workouts Yippee! I’m really excited to get back to some physical activity.

Until then, I use my frozen meals, Applebees menu, 100 calorie packs, and SmartPop popcorn!

What tricks do you use to stay on track?

The first two weeks of Weight Watchers have been fantastic! I couldn’t be happier with everything. I’ll be honest that I’m not following it as I thought I would. I’d planned on getting up early and doing a workout video in the mornings. I don’t. I’d planned on not dipping into my 35 extra points each week. I have. I even went an additional 35 more over that one week. We had a friends birthday and then my birthday. This week is the Super Bowl and I KNOW I’ll be drinking those points and eating them in pizza. I should just rename them Pizza Points. HA! Starting next week until I go to AZ in March, I am focusing my efforts toward NOT using my bonus points each week. And starting February 14th, when my coaching season is over and I have my evenings back to myself, I will start working out again. But until then, I am going to keep eating my points and watching the scale drop. I’m really proud of my 8 pounds. It’s real weight gone with no effort on my part. I know when I step up my efforts even more will melt away!

My struggle with my weight and self-image have been present in my life since I can remember. I’ve always thought I was just that much bigger than everyone else around me. I’ve always felt the need to tug on my shirts to pull them away from the roll of fat that sits on my ribs. I’ve always felt that bikinis just weren’t for me. I’ve always been on  mission to lose weight.

I spent childhood and high school heavier then my friends. As a teacher I see the current clothing styles up close and personal daily. Regularly, I thank God that I grew up in a time when baggie was the trend. I can’t imagine having to squeeze into a baby tee and tight pair of jeans. I feel sorry for the girls I see now, who live in the shoes I wore as a teenager.

I was thinner once upon a time. I was actually lower than my ideal weight. And I still thought I was fat. I still thought I was bigger than everyone. Thankfully, I’ve gained some perspective and I realize now that I was thin then. I appeared healthy, but I wasn’t. I was anorexic. I hardly ate. Aside from water, I would only consume 5 things per day. When each finger of my left hand could be used to count food consumption I was done. I’ve lived the tricks or anorexia, and while I was never hospitalized, while I never became thin enough for family and friends to show concern, I was there. Mentally I was there and physically I was well on my way to turning into skin and bones. My hair was already falling out in clumps. My eyes always had dark circles no matter how much sleep I got. I was sleeping much more. And I was waking up hungry in the middle of the night.

I had wake up call one day while talking to some friends about wanting to be a mom. Because of my lack of nutrients, my cycle was off and I knew that I was possibly harming my chances of having babies in the future. I decided then that being a mom was more important to me. I began to eat healthier, wel lat all. My hair stopped falling out in clumps, my skin regained its glow, and I felt happier.

It was hard to start eating normal portions again. I had a really hard time and was always near tears knowing that each bite I took meant I would be fat again. I’ve gotten a handle on this part of my emotional relationship with food. Some days the bad feelings creep in, but I’ve learned that this is a daily battle. I feel like someone in rehab. I understand Tracy Gold in all of the interviews shes given about her battle.

To try to “recover”, to try to beat the fears of being fat I forced myself to start eating. Then, I kept eating. I kept working out, too, but not in the same was as I did when I was striving to be pin thin. I kept eating until I woke up recently I realized that I’ve put on 40 pounds. Forty pounds. I’m at a weight currently that I one screwed my face up in disgust at. And here I sit. I realiz that 15 pounds of the 40 I put on simply by stopping my anorexic life. It was hard to deal with, but now I accept that maybe my body is healthiest a bit heavier. The rest of it though, the other 25 pounds? That doesn’t need to be on my body. I need to get rid of it.

I tried the South Beach Diet recently. I’ve done it twice before when I needed to drop some pounds quickly, but it wasn’t the answer for who I wanted to be. I’m tired, so tired of my life revolving around food and my clothing sizes and just even thinking about it at all. I’ve got way too many other important things to focus on in my life!!

That’s why when I made the decision to join Weight Watchers and the huge burden was lifted I knew that it was the right plan for me. I’m not a person to “diet”, but I have tried several different lifestyle eating/exercising habits. None of them have been something I could stick with for the rest of my life. Some of them, like South Beach and Body for Life, were fabulous for the time I was living them. But always something came up in life, my schedule changed, my focus changed, something. I couldn’t continue to truly live AND follow these plans.

I knew right away that Weight Watchers was going to be something that I can live and something that will stick by me like a close friend through all of life’s changes. I’ve stopped living my life around food. I’ve stopped letting the fat girl live in my head. Just joining weight watchers changed my perspective. It’s like someone has come along and agreed to carry that burden for me. I just woke up the day after I signed up online and thought. I’m done. I don’t obsess about weight. It doesn’t matter what size I wear. I live by Weight Watchers and I am what I am.

Keep reading here for how this works for me. And please share with me how it works for you!!

I’m so happy to be starting this blog site. I’ve had two very successful weeks following the Weight Watchers system and I am dying to share my story with others. I hope that this site is a place that can provide support and motivation for others trying to accomplish a weight loss goal. I plan to write often and openly about my experiences, my life, and other odds & ends regarding my WW life. I welcome comments and conversation. And I hope that you enjoy what you find here.