Days 61-67 - Nothing like catching a picture of yourself

Ok, let me just get it out there.  . .yesterday someone took a picture of me from the side (clearly without my knowledge because that just would never be allowed until I am SMALLER. . .) and I just saw it today online. . .and well, WHOLLY GUACAMOLE. Its one thing to look overweight. . .its another thing to look pregnant. . .but fat AND pregnant when you are not pregnant?  Well, if this isn't natural motivation to stay on program and continue exercising I don't know what is. . .Seriously, I am waiting for the comments of "I didn't know she as pregnant" to "when are you due" . . .Ughhh!  And really, I'm not going into a depression or need anyone to tell me that i am beautiful as I am. . .I am just calling it like I see it - THOU SHALT NOT TAKE A SIDE PROFILE PICTURE OF ME UNTIL I AM A SMALLER PERSON. . .Ok, moving on. . .

A couple of weeks on Facebook a friend of mine mentioned that the teachers at her school started a challenge to see if they could exercise for 30 minutes a day for 30 days in a row.  I was fabulously inspired and motivated by that idea and I put it out in Facebook land to see if anyone wanted to join me in such a challenge!  I was so excited when I started getting comments from people that they wanted to do this with me and 8 days into our challenge, I am thrilled with the results!!!

We have an active group that posts their exercise on a daily basis and I have had friends say that without this group they wouldn't have exercised - I love love love the power of Facebook and group activities.  I know myself that i can't remember the last time (ever??) I exercised 8 days in a row and I know its all because of the accountability of a group of people.  And we have a range of people from my end (couch potato) to those that are significantly more active  - but it doesn't matter what you do - just that we are moving our bodies in a consistent way that lots of us haven't done before.

I have never been shy  of telling everyone that I need people with me, behind me and on the side of me to accomplish this losing weight thing and I am so appreciative and love our Facebook group. . .some people have emailed me and asked if we can continue past day 30. . .WOW! Truthfully, I hadn't even thought of that, but why not??? 

Another big change this week for me is that I am trying a new WW program called Simply Filling Technique.  Basically under the traditional program, you eat within your points and with the exception of certain Good Health Guidelines (or GHGs as the world of WW calls them), as long as you eat within your daily and weekly points you are good and on program.  But as time went on, I realized there as a bit more to it. 

I know those of you that are already much healthier than me might be tempted to say "DUHHH'. . .but really, hold your comments. ..I didn't get to be pleasantly plump with making good choices, right? 

One of the things I was noticing was that there were better food choices (power foods) and some less filing food choices and then of course, the not such good food choices. . .A 2 point Fiber One granola bar was a nice convenient quick snack, but not nearly as satisfying as some tuna on a piece of low calories wheat bread for the same 2 points. . .

I was also noticing that I was HUNGRY quite a bit. ..not starving, but always wanting to snack, never truly "satisfied". . .I began to look at my husband's diet and in awe of how he was no longer hungry and not snacky.  The biggest difference?  He was eating a lot more protein then I was. . .and he eliminated ALL PROCESSED FOODS from his diet.  Whereas I was having a frozen WW lunch EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  We would sit down at a meal and have the same salmon for dinner and he was "satisfied" after 3/4 of it and I always ate the whole thing. . .not that there was anything wrong with that as I always weighed it and it was in my point allowance, but I had no clue (nor a care) if I was full or "satisfied". ..my points said I could have it and therefore I ATE IT.  Always.  Every.single.bite. . .I found I was "scared" to use my points earlier in the day, so I horded them til night. ..therefore, hungry during the day and having a big dinner (hello - isn't that the wrong meal to have as my largest??).  I also decided for the amount of liquids I was drinking, i wasn't peeing enough. . .now, in the best of circumstances I retain water, but eating all this processed foods I am sure didn't help the situation. . .So, I decided that I needed to try to eliminate processed foods and eat more satisfying foods. . .or "power foods" as WW refers to them as.

WW refers to certain foods as "power foods" - those identified by Weight Watchers as having the ability to keep you full and provide good nutrition. Fresh and frozen fruit, the majority of vegetables, whole grains, non-fat dairy, lean meats, light breads and broth-based soups are all considered power foods. Choosing these foods can help you to feel full longer while staying within your Points Target. Although Power Foods are recommended on the Points Plus program, you can choose other foods that may be less healthy if you can fit them into your Points Target.

In addition to the typical Points Plus program where you track and stay within your points target, WW has another program called the Simply Filling Technique where PointsPlus values of those foods. Eat portions that feel right for you. Not so much that you feel too full, and not too little that you still feel hungry.

So, I decided to start that last Friday and see how it goes for about a week or so.  I am still weighing my food to make sure I don't eat too much. ..but guess what?  So far, I am truly not as hungry!!!  I have stayed within my points every day and I am not nearly as snacky. ..Today for breakfast I had Light Yogurt (2 points) with bananas and 1/2 cup of Fiber One Cereal (2 points) and a banana (zero points) and i wasn't even hungry till I had lunch.  For lunch I had 1/2 cup of tuna (2 points) with 2 pieces of Sara Lee wheat bread (2 points) and grapes.  I had a Clementine a bit later and now I am eating Edamame as a snack (2 points ). ..and at 4:08pm I have only eaten 10 points and most days by now i have eaten anywhere between 12-16 points.

So, what I find interesting is that I have overall consumed less points, but much more satisfied. . .I think one of my big problems were the WW frozen lunches (and quite often breakfasts) were totaling anywhere between 11-15 points for both and they were not very satisfying and high in sodium.

Now, let's just hope the all powerful scale will show me some love this week and not have the new plan backfire on me. . .

Days 56 - 60 - When God passed out the Skinny Gene, I think He Skipped Over Me. .

So I have been on Weight Watchers for about 2 months now, or 8 weeks and as of today I have lost 12.8 pounds. . .clearly I am right smack in the middle of the average .5 - 2 lb weekly weight loss one should have.  Won't lie to you, I would be happier if it was at the 2 lb average, but I'm not and I'm kinda sorta okay with it.

There are things that I could do to be "more perfect" on WW and maybe lose faster. . .maybe have more water and less ice-tea. ..maybe not go into my weekly points Allowance 2-5 points a day. ..maybe stay away from a daily banana (yes, a LARGE one). . .maybe have less processed and therefore less sodium infused food. . .maybe have more cooked veggies and less raw ones with salsa. . .maybe not go out as much and guesstimate on some foods where no NI information is available for that  restaurant. . .oh yeah, and maybe do that exercise thing more. . maybe, maybe, maybe. . .but as of today, I'm not and again, I'm kinda sorta okay with that. 

I was sharing this with someone the other day and they told me that yeah, they went on WW once and they didn't lose on it and it doesn't work.  Hello. ..I am 12.8 pounds lighter, it works.  There are things I could maybe do to speed it up, but if this is supposed to be a lifestyle change, I am trying to find something that I can live with, right?  I have decided that anytime someone blames a diet for not working, it is just silly.  Its user error, not the diet.  Maybe WW or Atkins or South Beach or Medifast or Caveman isn't the perfect fit for a certain person, but if followed, all diets work. . .if not followed, you don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure out you won't lose weight . . .of course I am excluding someone that has medical issues that are preventing them from losing weight.  But people - stop blaming the diet...so silly.

So, someone else says to me that they think its great I have been doing so well on WW and now "you must see how easy it is to eat healthy".. .And this is where I think people have the thin gene. .or not.  No, I don't friggen see how easy it is. ..its not easy - doesn't mean its not better, but no, for me, its not easy.  I love love love junk food and I love to grab easy things and I love to go out and I don't like cooking.  And I love to eat.  So no, its a daily struggle for me.  As a matter of fact, I am quite convinced I think about food more now than when I ate like crap. ..I am constantly tracking my food, looking it up and planning lunch based on dinner or dinner based on lunch, etc. . .I'm totally okay with this and an happily choosing to eat healthier (I want to wear that tank top you know!), but no, doesn't not mean this is easy for me. 

But whereas I am thinking about food all the time, guess what I am not doing anymore?  I am not leaving meals feeling bloated and overly full. .I am not having the mental gymnastics of whether I should or should not eat something and the beating myself up if I did eat junk food. . .And while being on WW is a daily struggle for me, I would not give it up for anything right now. . .I feel empowered and better than I have in a long time and I love not feeling stuffed and beating myself up for bad food choices that I know I would continue to make. . .so yes, I am embracing all the reasons to eat healthier and lose weight, but no, after day 60, it is still really hard for me.  Just sayin'. . .

Days 39 - 55. . .I made it through the holidays and there is 12.8 pounds less of me!

First of all I have to say that I am so glad I have decided to share my weight loss ups and downs with my friends via blogging and facebook. . .why?  Because I thrive on the support and cheers I get from everyone!!  The power of praise and support is invaluable and right now its my drug of choice. . .I have had a few people say that they would never feel comfortable talking about their weight and the food they eat and the pounds they lose or don't lose in such a public format.  I ask why not?  Their answers range from its private to they don't want everyone looking and expecting them to be thinner every time they see them to they don't want to disappoint if it doesn't work to they don't want people knowing and asking them about it.  Well friends, for those that know me, that is not me.  I wear my heart on my sleeve and its not like my weight is a secret. . .if you know me, you know I have quite a few extra layers of maternal tissue and the more people that know what I am doing, the more supporters I have out there and that is what works for me now!  So, once again, thank you for supporting me - I love it and appreciate it soooo much. . .but we still have a really really long way to go. . .another 40 pounds to my first goal. ..

Soooooooooooooooo, I have made it through the holidays with a weight loss and I would be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't happy about that. . .I worked really hard at it and I'm so glad the scale showed me some love today!!  And when I say I worked hard at it, let me be clear, I am really only talking about tracking what I am eating and staying within my daily and weekly points and trying to make good food choices.  Exercise has yet to make a regular appearance into my world.  I think about it.  I want to do it.  But sometimes it just doesn't happen.I even signed up to be a part of Kirstie Alley's 100 days of Dance, but other than read the emails and look at the videos of others dancing, I have not made the jump yet.  Wait, I did dance quite a bit over the last week to Allie's new Just Dance Abba Hits on the Wii. ..love love dancing to Abba!!!  Interesting, I had so much fun doing it, I didn't even think of it as exercise. . .

I made a FABULOUS discovery recently.  PB2 - a powdered peanut butter that is an amazing substitute for traditional peanut butter at a fraction of the points.  Basically you take 2 TBS of the powder and mix with 1 TBS of water and the concoction makes 1 TBS of "peanut butter" for 1 POINT ONLY!!!  Pure awesomeness!  It has turned into a delicious afternoon snack for me, especially when I put the PB2 on MoonPops. . .

WHAT ARE MOON POPS?  They are almost like a Rice Cake, very airy and have a similar taste. They don't really have a taste until you top it with your favorite toppings! And while Allie likes to put Nutella on them (way beyond my points!), I love putting PB2 on them, as well as my 3 point tuna salad.  And at 1 point for 3 of the Moon Pops, that makes me a very happy camper!! 




Some other exciting news is that I did buy 3 new pairs of pants last week. . .I was previously wearing 20/22 (yes, I know. . pants actually do go up that high and higher and I can't believe I am actually sharing that with you!) and I was happy to notice they were falling off.  They even fell off a time or two in front of Allie over the past week and  while I wanted to wait to get clothes, I realized I HAD to have something.  Soooooooooooo, I bought 3 pair of $10 pants (walmart can be a beautiful place!) size 16/18. ..a long long way from looking good in that tank top I want so much, but yet, a good start!

I leave you with this final comment. . .in my meeting today I heard a woman say that more important to her than "looking good" is to be fit and healthy and to feel fit and healthy. . .you know what went through my head?  that is all fine and good, but damn I want to look good in a tank top