Monday, May 21, 2007

First Week Success...

I have struggle with my weight for a long time. Not because I am trying to fit into the mold of what our society says is beautiful but because I don't feel good/healthy, etc. I was always athletic as a child--gymnastics, softball, soccer. I played soccer the longest and was good at it. It really kept the weight off. As teen I age just about whatever I wanted and it never really showed because I was so active. I have PCOS--which makes it difficult for me to lose weight. I won't go into the long description of what happens with PCOS to make losing weight hard and gaining weight oh so very easy. But this has been a struggle for me the past 10 or so years. I have gained and lost the same 70lbs over and over and over. I was pushing close to my all time high weight of 250 again and realized that I really needed to do something and not just for me, but for my children. I want to be a healthy role model for them as there are so many unhealthy choices and enticements in the world. I have never smoked, I don't drink much and I knew that I needed to change my eating habits to really treat my body the way it deserves to be treated. I also came to the realization that I couldn't do it on my own. I was not taught as a child to have healthy eating habits. We grew up poor and when you don't have a lot of money you tend to eat less healthy as process food tends to be less expensive than whole food.

I had some recent success when I was following a nutrition program at my gym, but I also discovered it was not going to lead to longtime success as I abandonded the plan after 6 months because I couldn't take it anymore. I missed so many foods--mostly non-green veggies and fruit. I need freedom to choose and variety. I love flavors and I love fresh food.
So, I searched for a program that I thought would work for me. I landed at Weight Watchers--online--I am not a meeting type of girl. They have two different plans. I do not like to eat a lot of processed and prepackaged foods--of course that is how I got fat--so I chose their Core plan. I don't have to count the food I eat as long as it is a core food--all fruits, veggies, lean protein and fat free dairy. You get a certain number of points to use during the week for extras... I really like it as it is so easy and allows me to really eat good whole food.

Today was my weigh in for the end of my first week and I have lost 4.7lbs. I feel great and my skin looks and feels better. I have more energy and am really motivated as I feel that I am really doing it for all the right reasons this time and not because others seem to think I should lose weight. The power we have within us if only we would unleash it.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work, girl!! Everyone I know who has successfully lost and kept off weight did it on Weight Watchers. And can we talk about how great a workout just walking hills with the babe in a backpack is??! I nearly died the first time I did it. It's my go to "no one is here and I need a workout and the baby needs to join me" workout.

Danielle

Mama of 5 said...

You will love WW! I lost 40 lbs. 3 years ago on WW and have kept it off by continuing the plan. This is the first time in my life I have kept the weight off. I did go in to get weighed...something about standing on the scale with someone else there was really motivating to me. I stayed for some meeting but not all (too hard with little ones). Core plan is awesome...you will do great!!!
Becky

Mandy said...

Congratulations on finding something that works for you!! Wish I could. I can't afford weight watchers and tend to be a pretty picky eater.

I also have somewhat of your same problem. I have hypothyroidism which makes it hard to loose weight so I get frustrated easy and go right back to bad habits.

Hope you can keep it up and loose that 70 plus some!!

God's Beautiful Chaos said...

Congratulations! I have been on WW for 12 weeks and I am at about 27 lbs lost! Good job! Stick to it and keep up the good work!

Karianne said...

Good for you! I'm also needing to do something as my scale keeps ticking into the upwards direction. Let me know how WW goes for you.

5KidMom said...

Good for you! I totally relate to health issues that affect weight. I was a size 4 when my husband and I gor married 6+ years ago. Even after having another baby, I got back to size 10. Due to hypothyroid and some other hormone imbalances, I haven't seen anthing close to those sizes in 3 years. I have been working really hard on making some serious lifestyle/diet changes for a while now. I have lost almost 30 pounds since Thanksgiving. It has been a slow process, and I still have a long way to go, but I really believe it's worth the effort.

Keep up the good work, friend!!